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The Appointed Hour
In these luminous interconnected stories, Susanne Davis crafts characters whose roots run deep into the land. A woman experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder finds her voice in communion with other women. A Mayflower descendant wrestles with the legacy of a controversial monument that honors his ancestor. A tattoo artist fights for the passionate dream of his art. A couple confronts the foundation of their marriage when faced with a terminal diagnosis. THE APPOINTED HOUR shines a compassionate light on a changing rural America, spanning generations and locations by exploring the emotions that accompany life's trials. The heart-wrenching challenges draw Davis's characters together in feelings of love, loss, hope, and community, united throughout history by the place they call home.
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2017
About the author
Susanne M. Davis
2 books10 followersSusanne grew up on a dairy farm in Connecticut, still owned and operated by her family. Her short stories have been published in American Short Fiction, Notre Dame Review, descant, St. Petersburg Review, Zone 3, Carve and numerous other journals, while Harvard Magazine, Harvard Law Bulletin, Mothers Always Write, and others have published her nonfiction. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and teaches creative writing at the University of Connecticut and conducts writing workshops privately. For more information or to arrange for a speaking engagement or workshop, contact Susanne at her website: www.susannedavis.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 8, 2018
We read this book for our monthly book club and immensely enjoyed every page. It is a book that is easy to read, but once you're finished you are left with all of the emotions of each character. It is so easy to close the back cover and immediately open it back up. Each story stands alone, but when put together with the others tells a story of a resilient community and characters to match.
August 30, 2018
‘The Appointed Hour’ by Susanne Davis is a collection of interconnected short stories and highlights the lives of the people living in rural America. The stories are beautifully written and smartly intertwined with one another. The characters are carved well and feels so real. Some stories were pretty intense, some disturbing while some others give a hope that humanity will bind us together.
Young women go missing and later their bodies were found in a horrible state scattered on quite corners of Connecticut. Their murderer being a happy-go-lucky man who was sexually abused in his childhood by his own uncle.
A tattoo artist fights to live with dignity. He respects his art and wants people to respect his work too. He reluctantly draws a tattoo on a girl’s chest when the shop owner asked him to do so. But, when he started his own business and the same girl visited him, he refuses to draw any tattoo on that girl.
These stories are set in Connecticut, based on the lives of ordinary people living a complicated life. Each of the characters are distinctive and drawn so accurately that you will feel yourself being dragged deep into their lives. I was emotionally attached to each of the story.
Read the full review here:
https://booktalesanddonuts.wordpress....
Young women go missing and later their bodies were found in a horrible state scattered on quite corners of Connecticut. Their murderer being a happy-go-lucky man who was sexually abused in his childhood by his own uncle.
A tattoo artist fights to live with dignity. He respects his art and wants people to respect his work too. He reluctantly draws a tattoo on a girl’s chest when the shop owner asked him to do so. But, when he started his own business and the same girl visited him, he refuses to draw any tattoo on that girl.
These stories are set in Connecticut, based on the lives of ordinary people living a complicated life. Each of the characters are distinctive and drawn so accurately that you will feel yourself being dragged deep into their lives. I was emotionally attached to each of the story.
Read the full review here:
https://booktalesanddonuts.wordpress....
May 8, 2018
This group of connected stories shines a spotlight on rural America.
A woman walks into a tattoo shop, wanting a large tattoo across her chest for a less-than-intelligent reason. The male tattoo artist reluctantly fulfills her wish. A few years later, when the artist has his own shop, the same woman wants another tattoo. This time he says no; the art outweighs the money.
A local handyman, who has acquired the nickname Useless John, goes to a woman's house to install a hardwood floor in her kitchen. She just happens to look exactly his wife who died several years previously. He was driving when there was a bad auto accident.
A descendant of the Mayflower attempts to deal with a monument to an ancestor. A woman with post-traumatic stress disorder finds a group of other women to help her regain her voice. There is a story about dealing with HIV. An actress in the 1950's who got to kiss Elvis Presley on screen decided, in later years, to become a nun. She is now known as Mother Agnes.
These stories take place in Connecticut, but they could take place anywhere. Individually, these stories are excellent. Put them together, and this collection nears the level of Amazing. It is extremely highly recommended.
A woman walks into a tattoo shop, wanting a large tattoo across her chest for a less-than-intelligent reason. The male tattoo artist reluctantly fulfills her wish. A few years later, when the artist has his own shop, the same woman wants another tattoo. This time he says no; the art outweighs the money.
A local handyman, who has acquired the nickname Useless John, goes to a woman's house to install a hardwood floor in her kitchen. She just happens to look exactly his wife who died several years previously. He was driving when there was a bad auto accident.
A descendant of the Mayflower attempts to deal with a monument to an ancestor. A woman with post-traumatic stress disorder finds a group of other women to help her regain her voice. There is a story about dealing with HIV. An actress in the 1950's who got to kiss Elvis Presley on screen decided, in later years, to become a nun. She is now known as Mother Agnes.
These stories take place in Connecticut, but they could take place anywhere. Individually, these stories are excellent. Put them together, and this collection nears the level of Amazing. It is extremely highly recommended.
April 24, 2018
I read many more novels than I do short stories. And so whenever I pick up a collection, I welcome the change in pace and structure. To tell a story, as Susanne Davis does, in five to fifteen pages, is an art - a quirky, fascinating art. Her short stories had me feeling as if I had just joined two people who were halfway through a conversation. But six or seven sentences in, I was all caught up. Because Davis lives and writes and sets her stories in Connecticut, it's easy for me to picture where the action occurs. And her characters, many with long family histories in the state, are deep and true and accurately drawn - they feel like people I know or ought to know. There are some disturbing stories, but the pain they depict is as much a part of life, if not more, than the lighter tales. And her dry wit can be traced throughout the collection.
October 13, 2020
Susanne Davis has a lovely collection of short stories with interesting characters. Some of the characters pop into other stories as familiar faces weaving the lives of many in the same area of Connecticut. My favorites: Object of Desire, the Law of Gravity.
I had the honor of taking a writing course from Susanne in Hartford at the Mark Twain House. She's a wonderful writer and teacher.
I had the honor of taking a writing course from Susanne in Hartford at the Mark Twain House. She's a wonderful writer and teacher.
December 15, 2018
Great collection of short stories and eloquent writing
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews