Secrets of a Walking Stick
This is a delightful little collection of somewhat whimsical, somewhat satirical vignettes and reflections on the “State of the Village”, as well as the world at large, as seen through the eyes of the inhabitants of an umbrella stand in a cottage in a seaside village.
The author, Mike Silberbauer, a self-styled “Village Eccentric”, has imbued his collection of sundry walking sticks, plus the odd umbrella, with distinct and highly appropriate personalities, and proceeds, in the form of conversations in the umbrella stand, to recount stories from his and family’s lives, as well as sometimes highly astute observations on various contemporary and historical “happenings” in the world out there.
The device of animating inanimate objects to tell a story is not new, but Mike has done it extremely well, especially in defining the characters and personalities of his storytellers. Rather than fall into the trap, as his foreword writer put it, of “composing eloquent sentences”, Mike has perfected a simplistic, almost innocent style, which makes for a refreshing, fun and light-hearted read.
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