Vertical Stories for Horizontal People

The most compelling feature of this sweeping variety of short stories, some memoir, some fiction, by author Mitch Rapoport, is that each paint infinitely detailed pictures that breathe life into them. The Molly Chair saga spans over 100 years and tracks the path of Solomon's finely hand-crafted gift for his wife, as it travels down through the generations, and carries with it a trail of triumphs, loss, and memories.

Another tale is of the widow, Estelle, whose lifetime is indelibly tainted by a thread of shocking and catastrophic tragedies for the men who share her life. There is the touching story of a man whose profound, but unrequited love, is for a woman above his station, and from it, he provides the world with an astonishing spectacle. The story of Mortimer Barnes, an ineffectual and modest man, will fill you with foreboding when a nightmare turns into a gruesome and bizarre end. You'll meet Celeste, whose unrepentant miserly existence alienates the world around her.

You'll recognize the contemporary irony in the amusing tale of a man who finds humor in the appalling side effects of drugs advertised on television. You might recognize yourself in the coming-of-age true sagas of a 13-year old's first experience with physical love and the hilarious account of 2 mischievous young boys who nearly drive their gentle grandfather mad!

You'll read an entire story that takes place within a span of 5 minutes when a gun is placed to a man's head, and the strange tale of a person who discovers a curious mystery surrounding his late mother's internment. There are 14 stories in all and each has a twist or surprise ending that is often the hallmark of Mitch's writing. Be prepared to laugh, think, cry, and shiver!