Find out the latest indie author news. For FREE.

ADVERTISEMENT

Formats
Paperback Details
  • 07/2018
  • 13: 978-0464910664 0464910664
  • 480 pages
  • $12.50
Hardcover Details
  • 07/2018
  • 13: 978-0464895022 0464895022
  • 480 pages
  • $32.50
Lawrence Jay Switzer
Author, Illustrator
Sayville Tales

Like their medieval predecessors who so memorably journeyed together to Canterbury, a motley group of railroad passengers agree to pass their time immersed in the busywork of storytelling. As the restored Paumanok Express makes its way towards Sayville and beyond, the strangers and ghosts on board create a crazy quilt of fictions, the strangest of which might be the story of the quilt-making itself. Among the tales: ---- The appointed racketeers of the Warren Commission square off against a little boy who claims he saw what never happened on the Grassy Knoll. ---- Challenged by her hungry 52-year-old son and the emptiness of her cupboard, a snowbound widow invokes the mysterious Nostradamus Cookbook to conjur sustenance from nothingness. ---- The Devil's Tower, a massive wireless station in the quiet town of Sayville, is exposed as a nest of foreign agents and saboteurs. ---- Hitching his bagel wagon to the local unicorn has disastrous results for an enterprising baker. ---- A quick brown fox lives a challenging life, experiencing love and loss, deprivation and war, much like his human counterparts. Then he jumps over a lazy dog. ---- Over the course of fifteen years, a young nun's vow of silence is slowly transformed into a vow of silent vengeance. ---- A robotic bathroom attendant, a mechanized Hercule Poirot, interrogates visitors to his water closet. ---- What happens to the hole in a bagel after the bagel is eaten? Rabbi Scholnik explores this metaphysical mystery. ---- A photograph of Detroit's Michigan Avenue is stripped down, layer by layer, to reveal the underbelly of "Skid-Row" America. ---- Why is the missing passenger on the Paumanok Express missing, and what story would he have told if he wasn't? ---- An actor, attending a Halloween party, costumed as the Devil, finds himself the center of attention for a night spent with soul-bartering hagglers. Later on, he faces serious repercussions when the real Devil accuses him of identity theft.

Reviews
amazon.de

Great short stories with a good sense of humor

First I was a little bit sceptical with the cover, but when I started to read it it turned out to be a fantastic book. It's well written and after each short story it will bring you a smile in your face. The unicorn story I loved very much. And there are a lot of things you can learn reading this book. If you sit in the train going somewhere that's the book to read --- but be careful not to miss the station where you have to get off!--- Christian Gölker, April 24, 2019

Reviews from amazon.com prior to May 1, 2019

----------------------

Charming and witty adventure ... highly recommend this treasure!
---Harold Seltzer, April 6, 2019

----------------------

Lawrence Jay Switzer's book, Sayville Tales, is astute, sharp, and magnanimous ... like canvases and rooms, seen from within the same interior, Switzer guides us into a world that we seldom allow ourselves time enough to discover.
---Gregoire Vabre, March 16, 2019

----------------------

I loved this book. Wonderful visuals and incredible stories woven together into a whole by the premise of travelers sharing a journey on a train and each sharing their own tale. My favorite story was perhaps the Brown Fox, but then there is the story about the Vengeful Nun, the Rabbi's Puzzle, and the Devil's Tower ... to name just a few. There is something foe everyone: animals, devils, ghosts, religion, intrigue and mystery, and for lovers of trains, the illustrations and photos are extremely engaging. The writing is skillful and witty. The characters are unique and interesting and the stories are great fun. I expect to reread Sayville Tales, a number of times.
---Loretta Schneider-Cramer, December 23, 2018

--------------------

I really enjoyed Sayville Tales, it's not like any other book I have read. This novel takes you on a journey. You are a passenger riding in a train with other passengers. You are hearing different tales from your fellow passengers along the way. I very much enjoyed that this book was a bunch of little stories compiled into one major story. The author is very descriptive and there is a lot of humor which I really appreciated. Along with the lovely story there are some great illustrations that compliment it nicely. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates short stories, adventure and humor.
---M. Adams on December 12, 2018

Formats
Paperback Details
  • 07/2018
  • 13: 978-0464910664 0464910664
  • 480 pages
  • $12.50
Hardcover Details
  • 07/2018
  • 13: 978-0464895022 0464895022
  • 480 pages
  • $32.50
ADVERTISEMENT

Loading...