A collection of four short stories about people at the crossroads of life. The road they take will lead them to positive or negative consequences. It's a story of self-determination and human struggle. The Garden of the Republic: An impulsive New Yorker who is bored with his life joins a NGO and travels to Tucuman, Argentina to build a health clinic. He meets a few individuals who have a tremendous impact on his stay as he learns about Argentina's Dirty War duing the 1980s. Zabalburu Urkia: An Irishman with slight ...
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A collection of four short stories about people at the crossroads of life. The road they take will lead them to positive or negative consequences. It's a story of self-determination and human struggle. The Garden of the Republic: An impulsive New Yorker who is bored with his life joins a NGO and travels to Tucuman, Argentina to build a health clinic. He meets a few individuals who have a tremendous impact on his stay as he learns about Argentina's Dirty War duing the 1980s. Zabalburu Urkia: An Irishman with slight disabilities sees his life passing by him. He takes a chance to teach English in the Basque Country, Spain. Once there, his disabilities make is stressful for him and by accident learns about the lost treasure of the Basque diaspora. The Bells of Gloucester: Two young lads from Gloucester, England, best friends since childhood, slowy drift apart as their life takes them down different paths. Their new friends make them decide which direction they'll go. It's a story about the pressures of adolescence and redemption. Celtic Verde : An allegory tale about the only constant in life is change. It uses metaphorical characters who represent the cycles of life-birth, selfishness, hope, and death. Connor, a self-centred man from Chicago, with Irish heritage, thinks adolescence will last forever. As an adult, he runs from responsibility. He leaves his elderly parents in their time of need and goes to Ireland to look for work, but discovers how much Ireland has changed. Desperate, he gets tempted to make a wish at an ancient water well.
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Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 144 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 144 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
ââ?¬Å"Short Stories from Faraway Placesââ?¬Â? by Kevin Oââ?¬â?¢Flaherty is a whip-smart collection of four short stories that explore some of the most intricate fragments of life. They touch on evolving friendships, family dynamics, broken dreams, redemption, and self-worth. Beneath the challenges and struggles of the characters, readers will resonate with the stories, gaining insights that are bound to be useful in their lives.
In The Garden of The Republic, James, a part-time librarian in New York, considers himself to be stuck in a rut. He takes on a two-and-a-half-year program from a nongovernmental organization building a health clinic in Tucuman, Argentina. His arrival and stay there do not go as expected as he meets friends and foes alike.
In Zabalburu Urkia, Liam, a middle-aged Irishman working in a large restaurant in Dublin, is excited to start his new job as an English teacher in Spain. While there, he learns about the Spanish Civil War and develops a liking for hiking. His uncertainty about the future, however, grows when he realizes that his poor grammatical skills stand in the way of his teaching career. Luckily, an act of selflessness gives him a chance to redeem himself.
In another entry titled The Bells of Gloucester, two teenage friends, one from a broken family and another struggling with self-acceptance, grow apart when they develop different interests. Their experiences shape them, leading them to explore the possibility of a rekindled friendship.
Then in Celtic Verde, an egotistical and willful man from Chicago leaves behind his ailing father and elderly mother to start a new life in Ireland, with nothing but his broken dreams. Frustrated at how his life turned out, he hopes that going back to his roots will give him a chance at redemption. While there, he reflects on his past and learns the importance of family and true friendship.
These flawlessly executed entries read like real-life stories and succeed in invoking empathy and self-reflection as they probe the meaning and value of human life. O�Flaherty�s genius lies in the subtleties of everyday life as some of the characters try to fit in and learn the cultures and way of life of the citizens in the places to which they immigrate. A unique aspect among them all is the determination to succeed despite the setbacks they face, a feature I found to be appreciable.
The author further gives us an armchair tour around various countries, describing the landscapes with remarkable finesse. He compliments this with real historical details in his narration such as the bleak period surrounding the Spanish Civil War and the infamous campaign waged against suspected subversives in Argentina known as the Dirty War.
Written with exceptional charm, ââ?¬Å"Short Stories from Faraway Placesââ?¬Â? by Kevin Oââ?¬â?¢Flaherty is powerful indeed and will leave a lasting impact on everyone who sets their minds to read it. Fans of literary fiction, short stories, and humanities will find special enjoyment here.
