With Charactered Pieces, Caleb J. Ross presents a varied world of familial discord, one where a dead fetus evokes more compassion than its mother (...
read full description
reviews
Jul 06, 2011
Nicholas
rated it: 
The stories of Caleb Ross have a tendency to stick sideways in my brain. Most of them have interesting plots, poetic prose, and they flow quite nicely. The thing is, there's often an subtle element of surrealism that I can't quite pin down effectively. There seems to be one detail that's off, and the way characters react to it is never quite what I would have expected.
I went through the whole book with the feeling like it was a very lucid dream. Reaching the last page, I didn't have More...
I went through the whole book with the feeling like it was a very lucid dream. Reaching the last page, I didn't have More...
Dec 20, 2011
Caleb
rated it: 
I'm the author, but it's cool if I review the book, right? True, it seems obvious that I would think this book is worth a 5-star rating, thus negating the need for me to comment. But, when the opportunity to be an egomaniac arises, I take it.
Seriously, though, there's some good stuff on these pages.
Seriously, though, there's some good stuff on these pages.
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Aug 18, 2010
Colin
rated it:
Caleb J. Ross’ Charactered Pieces may have an unconventional structure that succeeds on some levels and fails on others, but it’s a solid short story collection from the Outsider Writer’s Press.
Without a doubt, Caleb J. Ross is a talented writer. His short stories are widely published, and even if there is a little too much Chuck Palahniuk influence for my taste (not overkill, just enough for me to wish the influence got buried deeper), it’s easy to see why his work is spreading far More...
Without a doubt, Caleb J. Ross is a talented writer. His short stories are widely published, and even if there is a little too much Chuck Palahniuk influence for my taste (not overkill, just enough for me to wish the influence got buried deeper), it’s easy to see why his work is spreading far More...
May 16, 2010
Austin
rated it:
Writing that moves you is hard to find while wading through the debris of mainstream literature.
Caleb’s homespun flavor of modern tragedy will move you–surely as a swan dive into oncoming traffic.
Character Pieces might be compared to being in a bad relationship: you fall deeper and deeper in love as your heart breaks over and over again. You won’t forget these words, even if (for some ungodly reason) you wanted to.
All you really want is more.
Caleb’s homespun flavor of modern tragedy will move you–surely as a swan dive into oncoming traffic.
Character Pieces might be compared to being in a bad relationship: you fall deeper and deeper in love as your heart breaks over and over again. You won’t forget these words, even if (for some ungodly reason) you wanted to.
All you really want is more.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 09, 2011
Richard
rated it:
There is a great variety of fiction in this collection. The one thing they have in common is the power that resonates, the echo of the stories after you've closed the book. Flawed characters are always the most captivating, layered, and human, and these stories are no exception. I've read a lot of stories by Ross, and this is a great compilation of his work. He's been widely published online and in a handful of anthologies, but I always enjoy his work. This is a great way to get to know his writ
More...
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 04, 2010
Craig
rated it:
Part of the curriculum of any swimming class is confidence in water. To demonstrate this, a child in their first year of high school will be required to jump, or dive, into the deep end of the pool and swim a full length using their chosen technique. I had, three years previous to this happening, passed both bronze and silver certificates in swimming lengths of the pool. However, I had never jumped into any amount of water that exceeded my height. It was a new school, with new friends and peers.
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 04, 2010
Vicki
rated it:
Characterized Pieces by Caleb J. Ross Published by OW Press 2009, www.outsiderwriters.org
Do you ever wonder where the Charactered Pieces go? Where we shuffle off to during the day, barely visible in the bright sunshine? Do we sleep at night like others? Do we simply slump to the ground when tired?
We live not so differently than the rest of you really, but without the worries of your concerns with superficiality. We have enough reality to keep us occupied.
Ca More...
Do you ever wonder where the Charactered Pieces go? Where we shuffle off to during the day, barely visible in the bright sunshine? Do we sleep at night like others? Do we simply slump to the ground when tired?
We live not so differently than the rest of you really, but without the worries of your concerns with superficiality. We have enough reality to keep us occupied.
Ca More...
Mar 04, 2010
Vicki
rated it:
Do you ever wonder where the Charactered Pieces go? Where we shuffle off to during the day, barely visible in the bright sunshine? Do we sleep at night like others? Do we simply slump to the ground when tired?
We live not so differently than the rest of you really, but without the worries of your concerns with superficiality. We have enough reality to keep us occupied.
Caleb J. Ross can seemingly observe the unobservable. He beautifully describes the lives of the ignored, the misplac More...
We live not so differently than the rest of you really, but without the worries of your concerns with superficiality. We have enough reality to keep us occupied.
Caleb J. Ross can seemingly observe the unobservable. He beautifully describes the lives of the ignored, the misplac More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 07, 2010
Nate
rated it: 
My apologies to the author, who I do not know personally, but this chapbook of stories largely left me nonplussed. I have mixed feelings about these stories.
To quote Mel's review: "Whether destructive, apathetic, misshapen or addicted, the characters in this collection continue to chug forward like damaged locomotives that refuse to derail. Their power, it seems, is in their imperfections, and Ross shows us, without a doubt, he is a master of tragedy made gorgeous." Largely More...
To quote Mel's review: "Whether destructive, apathetic, misshapen or addicted, the characters in this collection continue to chug forward like damaged locomotives that refuse to derail. Their power, it seems, is in their imperfections, and Ross shows us, without a doubt, he is a master of tragedy made gorgeous." Largely More...
Jan 17, 2010
Paul
rated it:
The stories in Charactered Pieces cover a lot of ground, such as family tension, personal identity, aging, depression, strangers, death...and oh yeah, a fetus-in-fetu. In other words, the hallmarks of good literary fiction.
But wait, there's more. Ross doesn't write dull, self-congratulatory literary fiction. His sentences are lean, stripped of the unnecessary, leaving only words that bring the characters to life.
The characters are wonderfully flawed (as the title sugges More...
But wait, there's more. Ross doesn't write dull, self-congratulatory literary fiction. His sentences are lean, stripped of the unnecessary, leaving only words that bring the characters to life.
The characters are wonderfully flawed (as the title sugges More...
Mar 24, 2010
Sal
rated it: 
When you open this book, there’s a title page that simply says “Charactered Pieces”, nothing more. In a handwritten note, the author, Caleb J. Ross, wrote at the top of this page, right above the title, “Sal, you are one of the…”
As I read through this short story collection, I began to realize that the author’s message to me was actually true. These are stories about flawed, broken people who care. This isn’t an existentialist pity party. These are, as the back cover states, “sto More...
As I read through this short story collection, I began to realize that the author’s message to me was actually true. These are stories about flawed, broken people who care. This isn’t an existentialist pity party. These are, as the back cover states, “sto More...
Dec 22, 2009
Amy
rated it:
A few days ago I logged in to goodreads and saw that one of the "sponsored books" was Caleb J. Ross's "Charactered Pieces." The title and the cover art caught my eye, so I went directly to the Outsiders Press website. Looks good, I thought to myself. Good enough to buy.
Being a cheapskate, but more importantly, wanting instant gratification, I opted for the PDF ebook edition.
These are great stories; stories that will stick with you, and with character More...
Being a cheapskate, but more importantly, wanting instant gratification, I opted for the PDF ebook edition.
These are great stories; stories that will stick with you, and with character More...
Dec 05, 2009
Mel
rated it:
Caleb J Ross’s short story collection Charactered Pieces is a celebration. It’s a celebration of characters who are cursed. With life.
Whether destructive, apathetic, misshapen or addicted, the characters in this collection continue to chug forward like damaged locomotives that refuse to derail. Their power, it seems, is in their imperfections, and Ross shows us, without a doubt, he is a master of tragedy made gorgeous.
In My Family’s Rule, a father and his two sons look More...
Whether destructive, apathetic, misshapen or addicted, the characters in this collection continue to chug forward like damaged locomotives that refuse to derail. Their power, it seems, is in their imperfections, and Ross shows us, without a doubt, he is a master of tragedy made gorgeous.
In My Family’s Rule, a father and his two sons look More...
Feb 13, 2010
Ken
rated it:
In the opening story of Caleb J. Ross’ new collection, the main character invents the term charactered pieces as a euphemism for diamonds with obvious cracks and flaws. In many ways Lori is a charactered piece herself – mostly due to the foot of her fetus-in-fetu sister that protrudes from her belly. Then of course there is mom, a bit of a flawed gem herself, who had half-her face blown off in a beer-commercial mishap. Yet, she seems convinced that somehow all the defects can be covered up, if o
More...
3 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 11, 2010
Brandon
rated it:
Bottom line and up front: Ross has got some serious talent.
That much becomes obvious on the first page and with each successive one. In "Charactered Pieces," Ross plays doctor on the reader, either by tugging on the heart strings or twisting the knife in your gut. Each story has an intended effect, whether it's a nostalic longing or an uncomfortable self-awareness to our flaws, and Ross showcases his ability with succint accuracy and haunting wordplay. These are the kind of More...
That much becomes obvious on the first page and with each successive one. In "Charactered Pieces," Ross plays doctor on the reader, either by tugging on the heart strings or twisting the knife in your gut. Each story has an intended effect, whether it's a nostalic longing or an uncomfortable self-awareness to our flaws, and Ross showcases his ability with succint accuracy and haunting wordplay. These are the kind of More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 29, 2011
Kristine
rated it:
The characters in Caleb J Ross’s Charactered Pieces are flawed and disfigured in the most unimaginable ways possible. There’s Lori who had the “underdeveloped left leg of her fetus-in-fetu sister protruding from her gut.” There’s the pseudo-prophet, Abel, who drank the blood of a camel. And there’s the masterpiece “The Camp,” my favorite story in the book, starting ominously with one of the best first lines I’ve read: “My mother doesn’t use hangers anymore.”
Caleb J Ross is not only More...
Caleb J Ross is not only More...
Jan 17, 2010
Gordon
rated it:
Much like the scratch-n-dent jewelry of the title story's namesake, these flawed characters make their way through the treacherous literary terrain of Ross's imagination, blasted by sandstorms and demolition crews, derided by their families and coworkers, wracked with guilt, and and seeking redemption in the fleeting margins between their text and your thumb. As seen under the cruel magnification of a loupe, these defects are but facets, however, and Ross's sales pitch emphasizes the sentimental
More...
Jan 07, 2011
Anthony
rated it:
Caleb J. Ross's 66 page chapbook titled Charactered Pieces should be read and discussed. It's simply worth talking about. So if I may...
Incisively honest, nauseatingly powerful, borderline voyeuristic. All in the best way.
This collection leads you along a razor's edge of human vulnerability and frailty, poised to catch you off guard at every turn and cradle you the moment you break. And you will break, if you have a heart at all.
But these stories don't scar you, th More...
Incisively honest, nauseatingly powerful, borderline voyeuristic. All in the best way.
This collection leads you along a razor's edge of human vulnerability and frailty, poised to catch you off guard at every turn and cradle you the moment you break. And you will break, if you have a heart at all.
But these stories don't scar you, th More...
Jan 04, 2010
Kristin
rated it:
This collection of stories is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. The short form has always been my preference. I admire when a writer can take us immediately in and then release us in short duration. When it works, it is exhilarating. Caleb J. Ross delivers this.
The stories in Charactered Pieces are dark, sometimes disturbing, and anxious. I found a theme of parental angst stream through many of them. It was enjoyable to spend some time in the mind of Caleb J. Ross, but in the More...
The stories in Charactered Pieces are dark, sometimes disturbing, and anxious. I found a theme of parental angst stream through many of them. It was enjoyable to spend some time in the mind of Caleb J. Ross, but in the More...
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 05, 2010
Ben
rated it:
While there is weirdness in these stories, not to mention biblical allegories and tales of suicide and the holocaust, what lingers is an underlying thread about the impact parents, fathers in particular, have on our lives whether through their presence or more often their absence. Ultimately, the stories are like a collective punch to the chest, though none more so than An Optimist is the Human Personification of Spring which caused me to lose my breath for a fleeting moment as I sat on the trai
More...
Mar 06, 2010
Chris
rated it:
I read this book in one sitting while I was in the doctor's office having a stomach test. The collection of short stories make the time go by quickly. As I read the book, the cryptic front cover image suddenly became apparent. This book is published by the folks at the Outsider Writers Collective. I recommend that you support work like this - words written by writers who exist outsider of the mainstream.
Jul 31, 2010
Simon
rated it:
A big sigh. That's what I did when I got to the end of Caleb's collection of short stories. It's obvious to point out that each of the stories has its own personality, but there's something in every one of them that provoked the same reaction from me - they reminded me how to feel compassion in the face of repugnance. The writing is carefully measured, deliberately crafted to draw upon a certain melancholy but in a way that doesn't disuade you from reading on - these characters do move you and l
More...
Jan 20, 2012
Jan 14, 2012
Nov 02, 2011
Feb 05, 2012
