Faces

by Dora Ilieva

A city is created by its inhabitants – people who laugh and cry, love and hate, struggle, fail or succeed. Their fates combine in one huge beating heart – the heart of the city. This short story collection takes the readers into the heart of the city of Toronto and makes them part of its innermost feelings and dreams.

142 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2015

About the author

I am a Bulgarian-Canadian author. My first novel is "The Devil's Gorge" - a tale of mystery, love and betrayal. I grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria and moved to Canada with my family when I was twenty-eight. Reading is what I love best. I often read several books at a time. My time is split between reading, writing, family and work. Travelling, watching crime shows and observing people are also things that I like. My second book, the short story collection "Faces", deals with the all too human problems city dwellers encounter on a daily basis. In August, 2016, I published my third book "The Master" which takes the reader on a roller-coaster journey in search of an artefact that could change the fate of the world.

Reviews

[Pamela Allegretto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dora Ilieva writes with a keen sensitivity to human emotions and life circumstances. In all literature, the key to a successful story is to not “over-write.” This is especially true with short stories where you have only a few pages to portray a compelling beginning, middle, and end. Dora Ilieva succeeds beautifully with this collection of poignant short stories.

[C.P. Cabaniss · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received a copy of this collection of short stories in exchange for an honest review.*

You can find my individual reviews for the stories as status updates, if you're interested in any of those thoughts.

This was not quite what I was expecting when I started. Obviously there are sad things that happen in the world, and many bad people, but I expected there to be a little more light in this. I think I would have enjoyed it more then. There were a few stories that I enjoyed quite a bit, but overall they were too depressing for my liking.

The writing is good overall, but this could use another round of edits to make it read more smoothly. A fairly interesting collection, just not what I was expecting.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of short stories set in Toronto, Canada. The stories talk about musicians, immigrants, truck drivers, parents, grandparents, etc and they often delve into the very raw emotions felt by all of these people. I found the stories wholly engrossing and even shed a couple of tears at the end of some of them. Overall, it is a great observation of humanity.

[Jessie David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good collection of short stories. Combination of happy, sensitive and sad stories. I can relate most of the stories to things happening around us or happening to someone we know or someone we meet on our day to day life. The stories carry issues and hardships of common people. Overall a good collection short stories.

[Juliet Aharoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book FACES is a collection of sensitive, heartbreaking stories. Each story takes the reader into a world where life is not sugar-coated. The first story portrays a divorced couple arguing about who should have the little girl for the weekend. The mother walks away leaving her daughter with her father, however, he leaves her at the station. Neither is willing to take care of the child at that time so she is abandoned. It left me utterly shocked.
Each story depicts ordinary people who struggle with life issues. The author is a prolific writer who captures the reader's attention from one story to the next.
I can't wait to read more stories by this author. I highly recommend.

[Cruikshank · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of stories that really swept me in and took a hold. A world was built using vignettes and interesting characters, and I was able to see this city from the perspectives of the people in it who are all going about their own lives. It was a really cool way to build up this world and set the stage for the city by showing us rather than telling us about where we are visiting.

The writing wasn't particularly happy, and there is a lot of deep and emotional sadness. I kind of wish the author had used some other emotions in the story a little better, but what is there is told incredibly well. I really enjoyed reading about these people and want to visit the city now!

[Joan Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faces is a perfect name for this eclectic collection of short stories. Each one gives the reader a glimpse into someone’s life. They’re everyday people you might meet on the street, have as a neighbor or a co-worker, or perhaps see in your daily commute and wonder about their lives. They’re men, women, families all facing a life struggle. At times the stories are tragic, sometimes poignant, other times uplifting, but they are always completely absorbing. I enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good!
Finally short stories that end up in tragedy (not all of them, but most do) and they all focus on humanity. We get to see different aspects of life with each character and how it develops. Sometimes it turns good, others in tragedy and sometimes life just moves on. Any of these characters can be somebody near you, that's one of the things I mostly liked about it. A recompilation of different aspects on "an every day life".