A Home For Laika and other Tails by Phillip E. Temples

A Home For Laika and other Tails

by Phillip E. Temples

Big Table Publishing

Boston, MA & San Francisco, CA

Copyright © 22021 by Phillip E. Temples

ISBN: 978-1-945917-66-0

Softbound, 33 pages, $15



Review by Zvi A. Sesling



Phillip E. Temples is a triple treat. He is a novelist, a short story author and a writer of flash fiction. In his latest publication, A Home For Laika and other Tails, the title reveals his humor as this book is about dogs, all kinds of dogs-- in different scenarios. There are dogs that speak to their humans, dogs that speak to each other and of course, the famous Laika, a Russian mutt that was the first mammal in space, and therein lies the tail … oops … tale.

There are thirteen stories in Temples’ book and each is uniquely special, incorporating science fiction and some hard truths, such as a usually happy dog that is anything but joyous when its human owner pets the family cat first.

There is the man who confesses to his dog about relationships with women and gets the perfect response from his pooch.

There is the human who ignores his dog in favor of reality TV , and tells his downtrodden dog: “What did you expect dummy?”

In all of his stories Phil Temples displays his talent as a master story teller who can flip from the fantastic to science fiction to straight fiction. He always writes with a clever edge and a great sense of humor.

Here is one story from A Home For Laika and other Tails:



Record Breaker



Tyler Lawson and Billy Hajo came across the giant Burmese Python in an Ochopee, Florida subdivision lot and realized it was close to record breaking size..

“It’s long enough, Billy, but it looks to be a few pounds shy of the one they caught over in Sylvan Sores last month.”

All the while, a standard poodle barked incessantly at the duo and the snake from behind a neighbor’s fence. Tyler and Billy came up with the solution to attaining a record-breaker almost simultaneously. As an added bonus, there was no more racket.



The story has an ending which displays Temples’ humor



I thoroughly enjoyed this short, easy read with an appreciation for Phil Temples’ craftmanship and story-telling. It is a book for dog lovers and fiction readers.




Zvi A. Sesling, Brookline, MA Poet Laureate (2017-2020)

Author, War Zones and The Lynching of Leo Frank

Author of forthcoming flash/micro fiction The Secret Behind The Gate from Cervena Barva Press

Editor, Muddy River Poetry Review