Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Human Act and Other Stories” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Human Act and Other Stories

Angela Lam (Goodreads Author)

4.80 · Rating details · 5 ratings · 1 review

The Human Act and Other Stories features a cast of diverse characters struggling to reconcile the lives they want with the lives they have been given. From the teenage girl trying to escape poverty in “Ashes to Angels” to the new mother mourning the loss of her abandoned career in “Queen of Jingle Junk” to the young man searching for meaning in “Hope in the Laundry Room,” ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, First, 134 pages

Published January 1st 2013 by All Things That Matter Press (first published December 31st 2012)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Human Act and Other Stories, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about The Human Act and Other Stories

Lists with This Book

The Turn of the Karmic Wheel by Monica M. Brinkman

Memoirs From the Asylum by Kenneth Weene

All Things That Matter Press

41 books — 28 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-34

Average rating 4.80 ·

Rating details

· 5 ratings · 1 review

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Human Act and Other Stories

Mar 22, 2013 Mary Clark rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

These are real stories and as a writer, Angela Lam is the real thing. Set in California, the stories tell of women’s lives in urban-sprawl suburbia “too far from the beach, and too close to the desert.” Lonely and bored, they seek the company of anyone who will bring moments of friendship, passion or change to their lives. These women acknowledge the choices they have made and struggle to get back on track. “I had already chosen,” one says, “and my decision was not on a whim,” but “how lonely I These are real stories and as a writer, Angela Lam is the real thing. Set in California, the stories tell of women’s lives in urban-sprawl suburbia “too far from the beach, and too close to the desert.” Lonely and bored, they seek the company of anyone who will bring moments of friendship, passion or change to their lives. These women acknowledge the choices they have made and struggle to get back on track. “I had already chosen,” one says, “and my decision was not on a whim,” but “how lonely I was losing who I imagined myself to be.”

They overcome the negative twists and turns, some by choice, some by chance, of their lives by holding onto a hard inner core of hope for self-fulfillment, a light we all carry inside. They are always restless. Some jump at the opportunity to transform their lives and their relationships: “Dana falls in love with her future,” and in another story: “I was no longer married to Howard, just as I was no longer married to the What Ifs of the past.” Others hesitate: “I glanced away, afraid of my heart expanding, opening with possibilities.”

Rescue is a major theme, the act of rescuing, or being rescued. They can be simple acts of reaching out. These rescues appear to occur by coincidence, but are actually the culmination of choices made as a result of their longing and striving. At the same time, they have an element of pure luck about them. In the title story, “The Human Act,” Lam hits her stride. Here the story is told from the dog’s point of view, beginning with: “I see her feet first.” Marcus is a rescue, by the woman whose story he tells. She is a successful career woman with “a rambling, open field heart.” She brings in another stray, a man separated from his wife. During the emotionally abusive relationship that ensues, she struggles to keep her independent identity. Most of all, she is seeking a way out and the real affection she shares with her rescued dog helps lead the way.

Lam is adept at turns of phrase that catch both the physical and emotional and mental state of the characters and reinforce the themes. “A gulf of cold air swept down between us, rattling the leaves on the half-naked sycamores.” She uses all the senses. “Burnt chicken and ribs and charcoal saturated the thick gauzy air.” In the laundry room scenes, you can smell the detergent and hear the swoosh of the machines.

Among the stories are those of women in relationships with other women, or with their best friend’s husband or boyfriend. There is a fluidity of sexual attraction and its ties with an imagined future, a different identity, and ultimately, freedom. Many have had their chosen future disappear before their eyes at a young age: a father’s financial losses, or a husband’s career down-sized by an economic downturn. Marriage and children end college educations and potential careers. Others quit odd but oddly-fulfilling jobs to stay home with “baby and bubble baths.” These are women with few resources and little or no family support. However, nearly all have a woman friend who sticks with them through thick and thin. Some have a male friend who plays a support role but wishes for more.

The Human Act is an evocative, contemporary look at women’s lives. It’s a bracing, and sometimes abrasive, blast of fresh air, hot off the desert. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Betty rated it it was amazing
Jan 30, 2019

Lisa Cameron rated it really liked it
Feb 14, 2013

Jan 04, 2013 Angela rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Aug 21, 2018 Angela rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Annie marked it as to-read
Jan 06, 2013

Bill marked it as to-read
Jan 07, 2013

Linda marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Violet marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Alissa marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Cindy marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

john albarado marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Elizabeth Case marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Kim Coomey marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Barry marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Cindy Gates marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Pam marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Vanessa Wolf marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Max marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Lela marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Shelley marked it as to-read
Jan 15, 2013

Carol Brannigan added it
Jan 17, 2013

PJ marked it as to-read
Jan 17, 2013

Anna Karen marked it as to-read
Jan 19, 2013

Emily marked it as to-read
Jan 19, 2013

Rand marked it as to-read
Jan 23, 2013

warmfuzzydyke marked it as to-read
Jan 24, 2013

Sue marked it as to-read
Jan 25, 2013

Jeremy Mcdermott marked it as to-read
Jan 31, 2013

Dawn Justice marked it as to-read
Feb 01, 2013

Micah Rasmussen marked it as to-read
Feb 02, 2013

Diane marked it as to-read
Feb 03, 2013

Tasha marked it as to-read
Feb 05, 2013

Cindy marked it as to-read
Feb 05, 2013

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Genres

Short Stories

2 users

See top shelves…

About Angela Lam

Angela Lam

116 followers

Angela Lam, formerly Angela Lam Turpin, is the author of the women's fiction series, Women of the Crush, as well as several contemporary sweetheart romances, a paranormal romance novel, a short story collection, and two memoirs.

Advance Praise for NOW AND FOREVER (Book Two in the Women of the Crush series):

"A realistic, thoughtful portrayal of a mature marriage at a crossroads."
~Liz Crowe, Amazon ...more