Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Letter Writer

As a writer, I believe The Letter must have been a really interesting challenge for writer Roxanna Russell. This work of fiction is in reality an assemblage of 14 short stories – all centering on some sort of letter; the Suicide Note, the Closure Letter, Love Letter, Fan Letter and so on. Yet the book is also a novel, in that each chapter is focused on a specific family and each chapter ties into the next. The three chief characters are Mark, his wife, Carol and his son Jack. Mark and Carol get together in dire circumstances, fall in love and bring up children who develop into adults with lives of their own. Each major life changing instant is emphasized with an accompanying letter penned by someone in the family. The author’s wit, passion and admiration of people in her live are evident within the first few pages of The Letter. She arouses issues so subtly that you barely know they are there. For example, is it improper for Jan to sell herself to save her father? I think not. The Letter reinforces that intent is what considering the rights and wrongs of life decisions actually comes down to. It was both a pleasure and an honor to read The Letter. ISBN#: 1-4137-9311-8 Author: Roxanna Russell Publisher: Publish America