Pieces of Bones and Rags by Michael C. Keith

 

Pieces of Bones and Rags

by Michael C. Keith

Cabal Books

Catlett, VA

Copyright © 22021 by Michael C. Keith

ISBN: 978-1-734-68324-6-4

Softbound, 280 pages, $14

Review by Zvi A. Sesling

It is always exciting to have a new Michael Keith flash/micro fiction book published. I have read more than a half dozen of his flash/micro fiction books and with each one the stories are increasingly more compelling. In Pieces of Bones and Rags Keith succeeds in keeping the reader totally entertained with stories that encompass  many different subjects in this 280 page volume.

Keith calls to mind some of the finest flash/micro fiction writers such as Jayne Martin, Robert Scotellaro, Francine Witte, Paul Beckman other short story authors such as Phil Temples, Rob Dinsmoor and Gregory Wolos. However, Keith is definitely his own story teller. Very few compare to his unique, sometimes bizarre ideas, pushing the boundaries of the unexpected. Some of the stories in this volume can be fright provoking-- such as:

And He Replied

“I’m having my Sunday morning screaming fantods.”

She left the kitchen without saying another word for she knew

There would be knife throwing.

Alternately Keith presents his humorous side in The Gift of Nonchalance

He climbed into his car and immediately noticed the passenger side

door was missing. He didn’t make much of it, reminding himself

he had no passenger with him.

What Keith presents as humor often goes much deeper, exploring a truth that few admit to, though many may contemplate the idea. Read for instance, “Till The End Of Time” a title co-opted from a song Perry Como made famous in the 1950s. Keith’s story has little to do with the song and ends differently.

Till The End Of Time

The day finally arrived when human had the chance to live

forever through the miracle of a one-time pill. Most people took

it, while a tiny handful decided they didn’t want to stick around.

Of the majority who opted for immortality, at least a third chose

to abandon their present lives, claiming that being with the same

family and friends for infinity was a for of purgatory.

Keith’s rather sarcastic streak is displayed as he derides obvious strings of thinking. Instead he presents his world-- which is not what the reader expects. He is a master of psychological stories in which the reader may be left feeling sad, happy, neutral or downright in awe of his ability to evoke inner feelings..

In Echoed Sentiment one might encounter many combinations of emotions Keith evokes.

Echoed Sentiment

“Lord love duck,” she’d say, reflecting on her troubled life. It

was something she repeated often, and I wondered where she got

the phrase. “It was a title from an old movie. Something that just

stuck with me. Ducks don’t have much luck when they’re around

people, and I haven’t had much either, so lord love a duck.” When

I heard she’d been hit by a car and died, all I could think was

“Lord love a duck.”

To note: Michael C. Keith’s writing is always informative and entertaining. There are no hidden meanings, and no confusing stories. Each story will make the reader want to read another. His books are always worth adding to our collections and spending time feeling enthralled.

I heartily recommend Pieces of Bones and Rags for your summer reading list or for any time of the year.

Zvi A. Sesling, Brookline, MA Poet Laureate (2017-2920)

Author, War Zones and The Lynching of Leo Frank

Author of forthcoming The Secret Behind The Gate (Cervena Barva Press)

Editor, Muddy River Poetry Review