Rarely Frivolous, A Consistently Engrossing Read

The good people at Neon have posted a new review of Stalin in Aruba by Shelley Puhak. Here are some of our favorite clips:

For someone for whom the word “historical” has always had connotations of “stuffy” and “boring”, historical fiction has held little interest. Therefore I was expecting Shelley Puhak’s recent chapbook Stalin In Aruba (published by Black Lawrence Press) to be a dull read. In actuality the collection is impressively strong, and conveys a surprising variety of depth and feeling…

…Although to some degree fictionalised, these poems are rarely frivolous. Puhak has done her research. A glance through the notes section reveals several annotations that are almost poems in themselves….

…For its unique texture Stalin In Aruba is a consistently engrossing read. This first collection is a confident debut by a quietly talented writer.

Thanks to Christopher Frost, who wrote the review. You can read it in its entirety here.

Stalin in Aruba is available from Black Lawrence Press and Amazon.