Review of "My Mother's Shadow," a single short story in a collection by M. Eigh

Summary:

This collection packs eight exquisite short fiction from M. Eigh, including Bitter Tea and Braided Hair, My Mother's Shadow, Oscar’s Extraordinary Life, Planned, Dear Teresa, The Manchurian Express, A Eulogy for Edwin Bogardus, Not A Bad Day and Double Sauté.

All of the stories have been previously published by very selective professional or semi-professional literary magazines and some of them have been re-printed since their first publication.

Review:

A truly beautiful piece of short fiction.  What it lacks in action it makes up for in literary depth.  There are a lot of layers to this story, each interesting enough to mull over for some time.

I was impressed with how easily M. Eigh introduces his racist world.  In just a few short paragraphs that contain no blatant description you understand the conflict and empathize with the characters.  I appreciated the symbolic use of shadows.  It was a clever literary reference to other literary references.  

I only wish there was a little more emotion attached to the mother.  This story is told from the point of view of a young child.  But I felt these innocent emotions could have been more balanced.  I was sympathetic with the mother's cause more than the mother herself.

All in all, though, an excellent piece.  This collect is well worth picking up if you're in the mood for a bit of literary fiction to read with a glass of nice wine.

4/5 stars

Reviewed by Alain Gomez

Buy this collection on Amazon.