Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry ?

Book Name : Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry ?

Author : Elizabeth McCracken

What is it about : This book covers nine short stories, all featuring normal everyday scenarios but peopled by not-at-all-normal characters from Tattoo Artist running out of skin space; Armless Circus Entertainer reminiscing old times; a Mysterious visiting Auntie whom nobody quite remembers; an unlikely Genius who masqueraded herself as a tramp or is it the other way round ?; Abandoned children raised by "walk in" parents; and a couple of eccentric family feuds. The location sets are very much American suburbia with small town extraordinary peoples living out even more extraordinary lives.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The short stories are full of lively conversation and plausible set pieces; written and packed with colorful imagination but yet firmly rooted on solid grounds. My personal favourite is "Secretary Of State" where a close knit family, the Barron's, will play their fun game during each weekend gathering : Government-Take-Over and each family member will be assigned a top job, like Attorney General, President and the niece, being narrator-first-person, was assigned Ambassador to Spain. The Author managed to always stay one step ahead of the readers and produced un-expected and entertaining twists and turns which kept the stories interesting and the readers on their toes. The Author's world is never mundane and the plots are always on the boil.

Would I recommend this book to you : Having read the first few stories in this book and familiarised with the Author's style and wit, I started reading with joy and anticipation, often accompanied with an appreciative quiet smile. Highly recommended.