Problem Recipe

© 1999

Review #5:
Reviewed by: SinOan
Comments:
Now THIS story I loved! The length, pacing and structure all felt just right, it had a perfect resolution and problems that a lot of us can relate to, and even offered some obvious but still important advice.

I am utterly useless when it comes to poetry, it is a subject I had to cringe and crawl through and to this day poetry is my least favourite aspect of writing, though I know that is down to my own failings and not that of others. Just as you can get people who are blind to numbers and mathematics, I am totally blind to poetry and no matter how hard I try I just never 'get' it.

Despite this, I still really enjoyed this story. Even though it is short and simple, it all works and feels just right. Like the Brady story, this one was made mostly of dialogue, but in this particular story that didn’t feel bad or wrong, it just fits perfectly.

5/5 stars and two thumbs up!

Review #4:
Reviewed by: Mikey
Comments:
And now on to the review of "Problem Recipe" first I will say this Casey what a punk cruel in his choice of words and actions (normal man I guess ) but The one part of the story that really stood out was with the teacher "Mrs Myers" ( Poetry is more than words. It's an artistic way of expressing something with language ... it isn't just a pretty arrangement . You can't make a word arrangement like your arranging flowers and then try to say its a poem .) nicely said and as usual Character dialog and internal dialog is well rendered and even in this short story I could get a glimpse of evolution within Anna's life, I wish it were a bit longer of a story and I would offer a 3 star rating, almost a 4 star just for the message and understanding I received from it yes indeed I will change that too a 4 star rating now

Review #3:
Reviewed by: Dan M.
Comments:
Here's my opinion...
Ok My rating I give this is actually a 3.8 lol.
I thought it was pretty good. It was interesting, had some good dialogue, and the end poem, though a bit cheesy was nice.
I can't think of any real suggestions on any changes for this piece, its seemed to work just fine, and it is what it is.
A good read with a tidy little point to it.
I did once again find myself relating to bits of this especially the opening. I do the majority of the cooking here and sometimes I can be a bit critical of my wifes cooking. Reading this actually made me think a little more about how she is trying and instead of criticising and just saying it sucks or whatever, to ask what she did, and then suggest how to make it better, and point out the good, and not the bad.
Sometimes people don't realize the impact that their words can have on other people, though not meant to hurt can sometimes really stick with people. So there was a good lesson here about that as well.
Good Job! :)

Review #2:
Reviewed by: STEVE
Comments:
Here's my opinion..The only reason for three stars indtead of four, is perhaps because i read it with intention of sending a copy to my 13 year rold daughter in hopes iy my 13 year old daughter in hopes it m may help her finish Lyceum and move on to move on to the bacheloreate program at east side It's an intuitive (sp) piece of writing, and seems that perhaps the lessons you've applied in here may come from personal experience? Anyway, I did like the style myself. I should quit now, I am SO sleep deprivedd. It has taken more than 20 minutes to type this. Thanks for another great ,short stoty.

really

Review #1:
Reviewed by: The Author Herself
Comments:
"Problem Recipe" is slightly humorous, slightly corny, and mostly quite easy to read and understand. It's a present tense story, which occasionally makes it a little difficult to follow, but it works out all right. The three intertwining problems being solved with the same revelation was pretty successful. I find Anna's first poetry draft--and later revisions of the same poem--to be quite funny! People have so many misconceptions about poetry and don't seem to realize that its main reason for existing is to express an idea to a reader, not just to sound good. The only thing that separates poetry from essays is masterful arrangement of words in some sort of artistic way so that they are aesthetically pleasing while they deliver their message. Anna does not really grasp that in the story, but her final poem truly had a meaning even though she just doesn't quite have a "talent" for poetry. I liked the metaphor of a poetry recipe. I think that this particular story is fairly clever and has a great point, and is easy to read (except for a couple stumbling blocks on the present tense), so I recommended it highly.

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