Stories written by
Vermont Storyteller Tom Weakley
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Reviewed by Linda
Goodman
I have been a big fan of Tom Weakley's
gentle wisdom and homespun humor ever since I first saw him at the
Three Apples Storytelling Festival in Harvard, Massachusetts in the
early 1990's. His CDs RFD Vermont and Harry and
the Texaco Boys are favorites of mine.
Weakley retired from performing in
2008, and I was sad to hear that. His delicious stories, though, will
live on, not only on his CDs, but also in his new book The
Stories, published by Highland Publications. His words paint
images so exquisite that I stopped to read them over and over until I
could do instant replays in my head. Reading them was like watching
the Andy Griffith Show, but Weakley's version of the
fictional Mayberry has a dark side.
Esther, as near perfect a ghost
story as I have ever heard, is the eerie story of a ghost trying to
make amends for a tragic accident. In the heartbreaking Sleeping
Outside Eden, a father and grandfather bid farewell to a lost
loved one at the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC. Adrift on the
Alfalfa Sea shares the lonely life of an aging storyteller and
dares to voice the words that every professional storyteller has
pondered: “As she came to look forward to the money she began to
worry that her talent mightn't last as long as she did. What would be
the first to go, she wondered. The voice? The stories? Maybe her
memory. If I can just concentrate, she thought, maybe I can postpone
its coming.” What horrifying, but completely logical, thoughts for
an elder who makes a living spinning tales!
Humor is also evident in Weakley's
stories. Two Pickpockets, Directions, and The Good Lookin'
Suit provoke belly laughs to counter balance the more serious
stories.
Teen angst is evident in Do You
Love Me Mary Olson?. In Tommy, a young boy learns a hard
lesson about coming when called. An unfaithful husband lives to
regret his betrayal in The Raspberry Affair.
There are a total of twenty stories in
this book, each one a gem. Stories told use eye contact, facial
expressions, voice, body language, and movement to make you see what
words alone do not express. These stories use just words so
effectively and artistically that we see in our minds every element
that oral story presents. Tom Weakley is a fabulous storyteller who
has performed on the main stage at the National Storytelling
Festival, and deservedly so. As fine a storyteller as he is, however,
he is an even more gifted writer. Like Pat Conroy, he paints pictures
that we have all seen, but in such a way that we relive the moments
simultaneously as we read them.
Christmas is coming. If you have story
lovers or book lovers on your list, this book is the perfect gift for
them. Please buy this book!
