Since becoming an author myself, I have met and befriended many other authors.

It had the unfortunate effect of making my to-read list even longer, but the benefits of reading some incredible works far outweigh this.

One such author is Dan Buri. We connected through social media, chatted, and had found a common language even though our genres of interest vary wildly.

Dan has been kind enough to feature me on his blog. My short story Freak Show has originally appeared on Nothing Any Good.

A few weeks later, Dan ran a giveaway for his novel Pieces Like Pottery. I was lucky enough to win a copy.

Now, the novel is not fantasy. It’s not historical fiction. It’s not what I normally read. It can best be described as literary fiction, stories of regular people dealing with issues of loss and hearkbreak. It took me a while to get to it. I don’t get a lot of time to read, especially not whilst drafting a novel. But once started, I couldn’t wait to keep reading the stories. Dan has a tremendous ability to portray complex emotions and situations, in clear and unpretentious prose. His stories touched a chord in my soul, as I imagine they would in adult who faced the altogether too-common issues of loss, anxiety, depression and heartbreak.

I think he’s one author who’s going to make it into the limelight in years to come. I certainly hope he does. I want more of his stories.

Below is my review of Pieces Like Pottery, as posted on Amazon. Take a moment to read it. You might discover something wonderful, like I did.

I truly loved this literary fiction, and I believe it’s on its way to becoming a timeless masterpiece.

What to expect:
A few short stories and two short poems. All are n a contemporary setting, with some vague interconnectedness. The theme that runs throughout is about regular people dealing with everyday issues of loss as life around them happens.

What I liked:
The prose is unpretentious, clearly and strongly written. Mr Buri has a great, deceptively simple, style that manages to bridge the gap from page into emotions. Those stories touch us on a basic human level, and evoke strong emotions by echoing our own lives. It has been a while since I came across literary fiction that was written gently yet so emotionally and thought provoking. I am eagerly awaiting more works by Mr Buri.

What you should be wary of:
As mentioned, these stories do touch a basic cord in our human lives. Perhaps not all, but some stories will undoubtedly echo something strongly emotional. This is not light airport reading, but a book to be savoured.

If you enjoy literary fiction and are not afraid of material that might make you feel, and not just escape into fantasy, I strongly recommend you get Dan’s Pieces Like Pottery a chance. You will not be sorry.

And, of course, should you want to find out more about Dan, you can find him on his blog Nothing Any Good, on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter etc.