REVIEWS FOR A
BAKER’S DOZEN
v Reading Mary T Bradford's A Baker's Dozen, is
like nestling under a warm blanket. The stories are heartwarming and sometimes
full of sadness and grief - "A Family Broken", "A Sunbeam"
- but they are rich in detail about the unwavering ties of family and
friendship. All describe the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary
circumstances, from the emotions that drive a young woman to end a pregnancy,
to what an elderly mother sees and feels as she rests on her deathbed. My
favourites turned these everyday characters into underdog heroes - "Coal
Dust Is Gold", "Anonymous", and "Mystery Customer" -
following the lives of good people doing what they can to balance the scales of
good and evil. It's easy to enjoy A Baker's Dozen. With an easy and honest
writing style, Bradford's stories are a (guilty) pleasure to read.
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v Like the best short story writers, Mary Bradford mines the
lives of ordinary people for her characters and their problems - what Frank
O'Connor termed the "submerged population" found in all societies.
In A BAKER'S DOZEN, Mary's first collection, a gambler tries to come to terms
with his addiction, a pregnant woman has a terrible choice to make, a
daughter discovers the unpalatable truth about her father, an anonymous letter
writer sees faults in everyone but not in herself. These are some of the
characters we encounter in the stories - characters who, while wrestling with
their problems, illuminate for the reader what it is to be a human in our
modern society. Though having great compassion for her characters, Mary
Bradford is too perceptive a writer to offer glib solutions to their
problems. She is aware, as was Chekhov that the short story should not offer
a panacea to society’s ills and problems, but rather should throw a light on
them - to say, "This is what the world is like".
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v Within the pages of this book the author has a
wonderful way of taking you along the journey of life, love, loss, heartbreak
and hope of the characters. From Frank’s story in ‘Room 103’ to the character’s
terrible dilemma in ‘Coal Dust is Gold’, this book is hard to put down. It is
brought to a close with a superb story ‘A Sunbeam’, one of my favourites for
the sheer emotion it evokes. I finished this book wanting to read more from
Mary T Bradford. I highly recommend you check this out.
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v I won this as a Goodreads, First Read and I
wasn't sure what to expect. I was blown away at how quickly I could picture the
people in these short stories. I was surprised at how quickly I knew the
background of the situation and what was happening without actually being told.
The only bad thing about this book is that it ended.
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v It was a joy to read the stories in Mary's book
, a glimpse into the lives, preoccupations and values of contemporary Irish
life..and written with insight and sensitivity.
I recommend it highly..
I recommend it highly..
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v I loved the way in which the characters drew me
in. A well written collection of short stories.
v I loved this - filled with rich stories of
contemporary Irish life.
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