Jim Tomlinson's previous book of short stories, Things Kept, Things Left Behind, won the prestigious Iowa Short Fiction Award and received enthu... read full description
reviews
Jan 24, 2009
I love this book, but then I did write it. So maybe I really shouldn't give it stars.
Edited to add cover review by Chris Offutt:
"Jim Tomlinson writes with direct language about people who have lost direction in their lives. He knows the pressures of life in a small community, the love of land, the cost of loyalty to family, and the confines of geography. With a vast scope including wars in Vietnam and Iraq, car dealers and high school teachers, this book never wave More...
Edited to add cover review by Chris Offutt:
"Jim Tomlinson writes with direct language about people who have lost direction in their lives. He knows the pressures of life in a small community, the love of land, the cost of loyalty to family, and the confines of geography. With a vast scope including wars in Vietnam and Iraq, car dealers and high school teachers, this book never wave More...
5 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Apr 13, 2009
Katrina
rated it: 
Jim Tomlinson’s stories in his collection Nothing Like an Ocean and the characters who inhabit them run as deep as the ocean. There’s something endearing about these people struggling to get by, get past, get closer. Tomlinson’s writing is smooth, his worlds easy to enter.
My favorites were the title story; Angel, His Rabbit, and Kyle McKell; Overburden; and A Male Influence in the House. Perhaps they stood out for me because Tomlinson does not shield his readers from the uncomfortabl More...
My favorites were the title story; Angel, His Rabbit, and Kyle McKell; Overburden; and A Male Influence in the House. Perhaps they stood out for me because Tomlinson does not shield his readers from the uncomfortabl More...
May 07, 2009
Justine
rated it:
Jim Tomlinson’s Nothing Like an Ocean is nothing less than brilliant. I read this collection of stories when I had the flu. No medicine that I know of could have made me feel better. It seemed like the author and I knew the same people, though I am sure neither of us has mutual acquaintances. As I read the story of each character, I saw truths revealed about people I know and have known in my life. This book is not filled with flowery description nor is it full of judgmental statements. It
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May 09, 2009
Ruth
rated it:
When I finished this book, I turned it over and read it again. I can’t say that I’ve done that with many books. I can say that I was enthralled by Spivey, Kentucky and its inhabitants. Sometimes we read because we love to revisit the familiar. Sometimes we read to be carried beyond our place in this world. And a short journey to a new place can be as absorbing as a trip around the world.
This all goes to say that I’m a Southern Californian, born and bred, daughter of a college pr More...
This all goes to say that I’m a Southern Californian, born and bred, daughter of a college pr More...
2 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 16, 2010
Traci
rated it: 
Well written, mostly interesting. Too many religious themes and references for me to thoroughly enjoy. But despite that, I can appreciate that he is a good writer.
Oct 01, 2009
Pamela
rated it:
More terrific and versatile stories of families and communities from Jim Tomlinson (following upon the beautiful collection Things Kept, Things Left Behind_.
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