Le Salon Annex

"Two Birds" copyright 2009 Kristin Fouquet Many moons ago, I had a story, "A Reason to Believe," in the first issue at  Full Of Crow . Five years later, it's come to my attention it will be folding. Sad news, but Kevin Tosca has a story, "Sobriety Test," in the last issue. It's an int eresting study in the exploration of a May-December relationship encounter. I couldn't find my story in the archives, but you can read his. Full of Crow has come full circle. http://www.fullofcrow.com/fiction/archivedstories/sobriety-test/ From Kevin via his Facebook page: This is for Paul Corman-Roberts. This is for his choosing my story, but more importantly this is for all the stories and for all the hard work he's done for Full of Crow Fiction over the last five years. This is their last issue, and I'm proud to be a part of it. Test your sobriety here: http://www.fullofcrow.com/fiction/archivedstories/sobriety-test/ Photog...

"Reading All Our Yesterdays " copyright 2014 Kristin Fouquet Only several pages into Erik Tarloff’s novel All Our Yesterdays , I knew I was going to adore it. Was it naïve optimism? Was the plotline already so riveting I didn’t think I’d ever be able to put it down? Maybe a little of both, but the simplest reason was because I immediately loved the protagonist. The story begins with a first person recollection of when he, Zeke, met his love, Molly, at a party in 1968. Through this flashback, the reader gets a glimpse into the decent, good guy he is and will prove to be over time. The setting is Berkeley in the late 60s and early 70s, a backdrop of rapid social change and heightened political awareness, juxtaposed with contemporary Berkeley. Because of Tarloff’s masterful construction, one is not reliant only on Zeke’s first person account, which occurs in the chapters from the past. These “then” segments shift back and forth with “now” chapters delivered in third p...

"Reading Lost in Space  by Ben Tanzer" copyright 2014 Kristin Fouquet I began reading Lost in Space: A Father’s Journey There and Back Again by Ben Tanzer on June 3rd, 2014. The date is significant to me because it was the 22 nd anniversary of my father’s death. This wasn’t consciously premeditated; I just sort of picked it up that day and realized the coincidence. Tanzer attempts to navigate through the role of parent via memories of his deceased father and experiences with his own sons. He employs creative devices in these essays as well. In “The Penis Stories,” he loosely veils the identity of his two boys by giving them aliases while understanding full well the reader clearly knows who is who. In “Anatomy of the Story,” he cleverly begins with the end and ends with the beginning. With honesty, poignancy, and humor, Tanzer conveys the vulnerability conscientious parents share in the raising of children. “No Avoiding That” demonstrates how ...