Confessions: A Book of Tales

By Loren Edizel

Why do we keep secrets and why do we confess them? The nine tales in this collection, all told in the first person, are each spun around a well-kept secret, willingly or inadvertently confessed. Sometimes the secrets are at the core of the narrator’s life, other times they appear tangential. Regardless of the magnitude of its burden, the confession finds its way to the reader, through a story told perhaps over a cup of tea, in the pages of a journal or within the intimacy of the narrator’s mind. Would stories mean as much to us if they did not remind us of our own secrets and regrets, our stolen moments, our ecstatic failures and sad joys? The stories are confessions of intimate events or desires: marital infidelities, betrayal of friendship, crimes including murderous thoughts and actual acts of murder as well as the painful words of those who consider themselves superior directed at those of lesser financial means who perform necessary tasks for them. Most of the stories are set outside of North America, particularly in Turkey, so they have a fresh cultural aspect at the same time as they convey the commonality of human greed, betrayal and heartbreak.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inanna Poetry and Fiction Series
• Release date: Oct 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781771331791

Loren Edizel

Loren Edizel was born in Izmir, Turkey, and has lived in Canada most of her life. She is the author of three novels, Adrift (2011) (long-listed for the ReLit Awards), The Ghosts of Smyrna (2013), and a collection of short stories, Confessions: A Book of Tales (2014). The Ghosts of Smyrna was also published in Turkish, in Turkey, in 2017. Her short fiction has appeared in journals in both Canada and in Turkey. She lives in Toronto with her family.

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Reviews for Confessions

[janerawoof · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Title may seem bland but it's perfect: these are nine first-person stories of a confession of deeds or feelings or of secrets revealed. Settings are either in Turkey or in Canada. I recommend this collection highly; the author's vignettes have deftly described certain characters and situations in which they find themselves. These tales are vivid and psychologically incisive.As in any collection of short stories or poetry quality varies. These are the ones I liked best:The conch: A Turkish wife in the 1940s and her secret life.Small gift: a Turkish street sweeper.The whisper: a jinn and a man who has done a great wrong. My favorite of the collection.Hôtel de la Paix: an orphan girl raised by nuns.Burgundy Wine: a wife preparing Beef Stroganoff