Short People by Joshua Furst

Dabs · 10-06-2011, 11:40 PM

This is a book of short stories. The author is actually one of my professors. I got to hear him read a selection of a novella one time and I loved it so much that I just had to buy this.

There are ten stories in all, and most of them deal with young people facing, in most instances, some pretty rough emotional problems. The ages vary. I think the youngest is six while the oldest is around twenty-two.

He's particularly skilled at getting into the character's heads and grappling with issues in a very intense way. Even the young characters are fairly introspective (though somewhat naive). But I think that's part of the beauty. It's not unrealistic. Kids do have inner monologues and they do worry about philosophical and emotional issues; they just don't articulate it in the same way that an adult or teenager would.

In fact, dealing with issues like in the way Josh does feels more genuine than typical contemporary teen stories. Forgive, but I could never quite relate to Percy Jackson and Harry Potter (though I, of course, enjoy Harry Potter; it's just in a different way).

He turns the mundane into something worth thinking about. He makes you really feel for this kids. He's not afraid to pull your heartstrings, and he pulls them in places you didn't expect. A lot of the stories explore typical things in an unusual way. For instance, the second story deals with a child who, at the age of nine, became a born again Christian. But when puberty hits, he goes through some struggles. But a lot more is going on than just a religious struggle. He takes out his frustrations in odd ways--but they're believable. It's a part of the character's psychology.

Granted, not everything is quite so brilliant. There were a few stories, notably with older characters, that felt like they were just too brooding. I won't give away anything, but one story gets kinda... emo. It was really just one element, but it felt like an element that the story didn't need and would have been better off without. I also didn't really understand the last two stories (you'd have to pick up the book to understand this, since it had to do with how he structured the text).

Aside from that, though, this was a really great read. It also makes being in class with him a lot easier since I have an idea of just how good he is, so it's not like he's just a prick espousing intellectual bullshit at me. lol

skittles · 02-15-2012, 02:58 AM

Looks interesting. Might have to try it sometime. (btw...no Percy Jackson?!?!)

Dabs · 02-15-2012, 03:16 AM

Originally Posted by skittles

Looks interesting. Might have to try it sometime. (btw...no Percy Jackson?!?!)

I hate Percy Jackson, but I also really despise teen/young adult literature in general, with a few exceptions.

10-06-2011, 11:40 PM	View Post #1 (Link) Short People by Joshua Furst
Dabs Aspiring Author Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 614 Points: 30 Times Thanked: 68	This is a book of short stories. The author is actually one of my professors. I got to hear him read a selection of a novella one time and I loved it so much that I just had to buy this. There are ten stories in all, and most of them deal with young people facing, in most instances, some pretty rough emotional problems. The ages vary. I think the youngest is six while the oldest is around twenty-two. He's particularly skilled at getting into the character's heads and grappling with issues in a very intense way. Even the young characters are fairly introspective (though somewhat naive). But I think that's part of the beauty. It's not unrealistic. Kids do have inner monologues and they do worry about philosophical and emotional issues; they just don't articulate it in the same way that an adult or teenager would. In fact, dealing with issues like in the way Josh does feels more genuine than typical contemporary teen stories. Forgive, but I could never quite relate to Percy Jackson and Harry Potter (though I, of course, enjoy Harry Potter; it's just in a different way). He turns the mundane into something worth thinking about. He makes you really feel for this kids. He's not afraid to pull your heartstrings, and he pulls them in places you didn't expect. A lot of the stories explore typical things in an unusual way. For instance, the second story deals with a child who, at the age of nine, became a born again Christian. But when puberty hits, he goes through some struggles. But a lot more is going on than just a religious struggle. He takes out his frustrations in odd ways--but they're believable. It's a part of the character's psychology. Granted, not everything is quite so brilliant. There were a few stories, notably with older characters, that felt like they were just too brooding. I won't give away anything, but one story gets kinda... emo. It was really just one element, but it felt like an element that the story didn't need and would have been better off without. I also didn't really understand the last two stories (you'd have to pick up the book to understand this, since it had to do with how he structured the text). Aside from that, though, this was a really great read. It also makes being in class with him a lot easier since I have an idea of just how good he is, so it's not like he's just a prick espousing intellectual bullshit at me. lol __________________ "Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them."--John Ruskin The best way to learn how not to write poetry is to look at DeviantArt's front page and read all the poems you can find.

02-15-2012, 02:58 AM	View Post #2 (Link)
skittles Idea Scribe Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: In my head Posts: 55 Points: 15.04 Times Thanked: 1	Looks interesting. Might have to try it sometime. (btw...no Percy Jackson?!?!)