* I would like to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review a pre-publication copy of this book *

"Stories of Love and Other Obsessions" is a very apt subtitle for Ortega-Medina's debut collection of short stories. Each of these stories portrays ordinary human beings who find themselves in the grip of compulsions or of malign external influences. Few, if any, of them are about "love" in the traditional sense.

The stories are set in Japan, Canada, the USA and Israel, and range from the expansive "An Israel State of Mind" to the mere vignette of "Eyesore in the Ginza". One character, Marc, appears in more than one story, but not much is made of that in any narrative sense.

The collection has quite a variety of styles. The opening "Torture by Roses" and the closing "Jerusalem Ablaze" are creepy and macabre. I found the sadness at the heart of "After the Storm", "And A Little Child Shall Lead Them" and "The Shovelist" the most affecting. The urban grit of "Eyesore in the Ginza" and "Invitation to the Dominant Culture" was OK, but I've seen it done better in the hands of writers like Junot Diaz.

I read this in a single sitting and am very much looking forward to Ortega-Medina's next effort. ( )

Orlando Ortega-Medina's biographical blurb describes him as a "US-born British-Canadian author of Judeo-Spanish descent." He currently lives in London, where he works as an immigration lawyer.

It is tempting to see in this début collection of short stories and its varied settings and contexts a reflection of the author's rich background and experiences. It might also be no coincidence that most of the characters are "seekers" who are trying to come to terms with their cultural or religious heritage, with their sexuality or, more generally, with their personal identity.

There is variety also in the author's style and approach. The anthology is subtitled "Stories of Love and Other Obsessions" and my initial impressions were of a latter-day Edgar Allan Poe, using elements from the horror genre to highlight his characters' fixations. Thus, in the opening "Torture by Roses", the narrator disdainfully watches the body of his teacher and mentor going up in flames, ironically confirming that he has learnt his master's perverse lessons in hate. In "After the Storm", we're even more clearly in Poe territory, as a lonely Oregon housewife finds a man's body on the beach and carries it home for company.

In other stories, Ortega-Medina ratchets up the sexual tension, through some explicit and even violent imagery. A case in point is "Invitation to the Dominant Culture", about a man who eventually acts out his violent fantasies about women. Also in the same vein is the title story "Jerusalem Ablaze" about a young Catholic convert who enters a seminary in Israel but is seduced by a Jewish dominatrix. It is a story about religious identity and guilt capped by a bloody denouement. Unsurprisingly, some early readers found these stories "disturbing" -which, frankly, they are. It is a pity that this will put some readers off an original anthology which includes its tender moments (such as "Star Party", about an immigrant with an interest in astronomy, or "The Shovelist", about an old man who convinces his new neighbours - a young gay couple- that they need somebody to shovel snow from their drive).

Ultimately, this brief collection's dizzying variety is both its main advantage and its disadvantage. The anthology's occasionally awkward mix of dark pieces and more "mainstream" material, flash fiction and longer tales, wildly different settings and characters, all within less than 200 pages, give it the feel of a "scrapbook" or tantalising "taster" rather than a fully-fledged debut. There is certainly a gifted author at work here but I, for one, would have wished for a more cohesive collection. ( )

Orlando Ortega-Medina's biographical blurb describes him as a "US-born British-Canadian author of Judeo-Spanish descent." He currently lives in London, where he works as an immigration lawyer.

It is tempting to see in this début collection of short stories and its varied settings and contexts a reflection of the author's rich background and experiences. It might also be no coincidence that most of the characters are "seekers" who are trying to come to terms with their cultural or religious heritage, with their sexuality or, more generally, with their personal identity.

There is variety also in the author's style and approach. The anthology is subtitled "Stories of Love and Other Obsessions" and my initial impressions were of a latter-day Edgar Allan Poe, using elements from the horror genre to highlight his characters' fixations. Thus, in the opening "Torture by Roses", the narrator disdainfully watches the body of his teacher and mentor going up in flames, ironically confirming that he has learnt his master's perverse lessons in hate. In "After the Storm", we're even more clearly in Poe territory, as a lonely Oregon housewife finds a man's body on the beach and carries it home for company.

In other stories, Ortega-Medina ratchets up the sexual tension, through some explicit and even violent imagery. A case in point is "Invitation to the Dominant Culture", about a man who eventually acts out his violent fantasies about women. Also in the same vein is the title story "Jerusalem Ablaze" about a young Catholic convert who enters a seminary in Israel but is seduced by a Jewish dominatrix. It is a story about religious identity and guilt capped by a bloody denouement. Unsurprisingly, some early readers found these stories "disturbing" -which, frankly, they are. It is a pity that this will put some readers off an original anthology which includes its tender moments (such as "Star Party", about an immigrant with an interest in astronomy, or "The Shovelist", about an old man who convinces his new neighbours - a young gay couple- that they need somebody to shovel snow from their drive).

Ultimately, this brief collection's dizzying variety is both its main advantage and its disadvantage. The anthology's occasionally awkward mix of dark pieces and more "mainstream" material, flash fiction and longer tales, wildly different settings and characters, all within less than 200 pages, give it the feel of a "scrapbook" or tantalising "taster" rather than a fully-fledged debut. There is certainly a gifted author at work here but I, for one, would have wished for a more cohesive collection. ( )

More a collection of seeds and scenes with cinematic potential than fully realized stories, with descriptions of motions and minutia better suited to stage directions than literary narration. Worldly and eclectic yet tremendously particular, even monomaniacal, in its pursuit of abrupt or disruptive conclusions. At times lacking economy despite its brevity.

I read the audiobook version of this title, and enjoyed the stories themselves more than the narrator. He becomes frantic and overly forceful when describing key scenes and rising action; I felt shoved toward certain emotional reactions before I had the chance to process the words I was hearing. And the narrator's falsetto (for women's dialogue) unfortunately verges on drag comedy. ( )

The audiobook version is how I "read" this collection of short stories. The voice clarity and pacing was excellent. The stories varied greatly in length, settings and characters. As with any short story collection you will have varied opinions to the point I listened to some twice and one I couldn't wait for it to end as I was not engaged. If you like literary fiction you'll like this collection;if you're a happily ever after plot lover I'd proceed with caution and an open mind. I received an Audible copy through the Librarything Early Reviewers program. ( )