The Acts of Life

by Tom T. Hall

THE ACTS OF LIFE (Tom T. Hall's Tales) Tom T. Hall writes about life out of rich, personal experience and the kind of observation that sees to the bone. The characters who walk the landscapes of his imagination and his memory are drawn with sensitivity, humor, irony, and deep understanding. Some remind us of people we know—a sister writing letters to her brother in the service; a traveler in a small hotel cafe, waiting out a winter storm; a landlady’s lonely daughter. Others—the young men trying to hire a new town whore; the cellmates playing a card game called Mexican Sweat — may remind us of nobody we have known, but we are not likely to forget them. The details of these deceptively simple stories take on the importance of details in our own world. It matters that the day Jimmy killed the rabbit there were no TV sets in rural southern Missouri, that Wet Stump knew how to tie a monofilament line to a short shank fishhook so it would stay, that Hank hugged his guitar while he slept. - From 'Hank in Nashville' : Dear Ralph, old Hank here, this is a Monday. l got to Nashville okay. God, what a town. I had trouble getting my guitar on the bus. They wanted to put it down in the bin with the luggage. I slept with the neck down between my legs and hugged the body in my arms. So far l ain’t seen nothing but T-shirts and stuff with Music City on them. I found out there’s a lot goes on here besides music. I rode beside a big black lady who had a bag of apples. Apples can make you homesick mighty quick. It smelled just like Ohio in the fall. . . .

136 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom T Hall’s writing has me simultaneously laughing and crying. These stories feel real and remind me of the country folks I grew up around. Lots of these little short stories end with a punchline. Love how he puts a bow on things.

[Treasure Island Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to find but great short story collection by songwriter Tom T. Hall. Every story is a stand-alone gem.

[Srđan Strajnić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom T. Hall je je majstor pričanja priče. I kao songwriter, i kao pisac ne odustaje od svoje omiljene teme a to su priče o "običnom" čoveku, što u njegovom fiktivnom svetu znači čoveku na ivici egzistencije ili čoveku na marginama života, kako više volite. U njima, bilo da su sa završnom poentom ili ne, Tom T. Hall uvek pokazuje da su mu njegovi junaci bliski i da ih voli. Tom izbegava patetiku jer okruženje u kome njegovi junaci žive je već dovoljno jadno. Slutim da je autor bio dobar čovek (preminuo je pre par dana) čim je odabrao da bude advokat siromašnih i priglupih, o kojima piše, kao što rekoh, sa ljubavlju i simpatijama.
Napomena: čitao sam knjigu u hrvatskom prevodu, izdanje Znanje, Zagreb, 1990