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Reviews (Excerpt) All in all, there’s nothing to dislike about Tales of a Texas Boy. With the help of her father’s testaments, Dasef recreates the era with real clarity. She conjures the characters and landscape until you can hear that southern drawl, and taste the dust in your mouth. One day a scriptwriter will find this book, and discover that it lends itself just as entertainingly to a TV series. Ed Cox, author and critic for Sam's Dot Publishing (Excerpt) Indeed, these tales are addictive. I challenge anyone to only read one without wanting to continue to the next. Overall, a lovely and valuable collection, I highly recommend it. Diane (Womblin), author and editor. (Excerpt) A lovely set of tales, read in one sitting. I couldn’t put the book down. With a wonderful voice throughout, Ms. Dasef brought sadness, humour, and contentment to my day. I’m very glad I selected Tales of a Texas Boy for review. Delightful! Wilga at Cocktail Reviews Professor Steven Holder (Excerpt) I enjoyed reading Marva's book. American local color writing has always been a favorite genre, and she handles this very well. She creates characters colorfully and effectively. She was smart, I think, to avoid having the boy make any thematic conclusions on his own, and leave them for the reader to think about. The book is a very nice snapshot of one kind of life. I tell students that the chief reason for reading literature is to gain insight into the possibilities of the human experience, and that certainly would be true in this case. Overall, my compliments! Professor Stephen Holder - Past Chair of the English Language and Literature, Central Michigan University Dianne K. Salerni Tales of a Texas Boy is a charming collection of anecdotes about life in Western Texas during the Great Depression. The author has related these stories through the narrative voice of Eddie, who is a slightly fictionalized version of her own father. These twenty vignettes are retold in first person, with an appropriate Texan dialect. I plan to use them in my fifth grade classroom as models for writing personal narrative. Each story is fairly short, the perfect length for a quick classroom reading, and will undoubtedly spark the students to respond with anecdotes of their own. ''That makes me think of the time ...'' Although the historical setting of the tales provides an unfamiliar backdrop for most students, they will be able to relate to stories about Eddie meeting a bevy of skunks in a cornfield, briefly living his dream of becoming a cowboy, and watching an act of acrobatic derring-do from a sheep dog. Because each story revolves around one simple but charming episode of daily life, they provide perfect models for writing workshop. Dianne K. Salerni Author of High Spirits: A Tale of Ghostly Rapping and Romance (Excerpt) [The second is] Tales of a Texas Boy, by Marva Dasef. Ms. Dasef puts on paper the stories told to her by her father of his growing up in the Texas panhandle in the thirties. The stories are real, fresh and heartwarming.
The book is a very quick read and I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates reading about the real America in a much simpler time and place. The people are genuine and the stories are touching. Barry Yelton, author of Scarecrow in Gray
Bryan Catherman - Read the entire review on Bryan Catherman's Blog (Excerpt) Tales of a Texas Boy is much like the Westerns of Louis L’Amour, only a little softer maybe, and shorter. The short stories in the collection carry a feeling of life discovery. It’s what most book critics or English teachers would call, “a coming of age” story. Adults will find this book entertaining, but it’s especially good younger readers.
Now I know what some people might think when they see that Marva self-published; however, there’s a time when this is a good option. Photographer Rich Legg, for example, wanted a calendar for his clients so he self-published one. He also wanted a coffee table book of photos for gifts for his family. He wasn’t looking for big bucks or fame, so the self-publishing path worked well. I believe it works well for Marva too, but I’d like to let her share that in her own words in the next few days. (I hope to provide an interview with Marva Dasef here.) Bryan Catherman, author and critic
(Excerpt) Reading these stories make me feel like I'm sitting down for coffee with my grandpa, listening to him talk about his childhood. The language feels authentic for Texas, but not so that it's difficult to understand if English is not your first language.
These stories are a fun and fantastic read for any age. Childhood is universal, so kids will totally relate. It also provides a glimpse into Texan life in that time period. I'm sending a copy to my mother and I have no doubt she'll read it out loud to my grandmother. When she does, I hope she remembers to use her best Texas drawl. If your Texas drawl is a little rusty, you might want to watch an old cowboy movie first. - Kimber An - Enduring Romance (Excerpt) Each story is told in the first person dialect, giving a sense of Eddie's personality. Ms. Dasef has drawn up a delightful person, full of the awe and wonder of a young lad. Eddie tells us about hunting jackrabbits (Rattlesnakes and Jackrabbits) and the purchase of one obstinate, nasty tempered jackass (The Auction). The characters are well rounded but still presented from young boy's point of view, seen as he would see them. These are only two of the stories included but easily my favorites. The rest of the stories are very engaging, the book a true page turner in a very gentle fashion. -- J. W. Coffey, author of "A Wager of Blood" |
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