The Reading Bud

Book Blog by Heena Rathore-Pardeshi

ARC Review: Treading The Uneven Road by L.M. Brown

Author: L.M. Brown
Release Date: 15th March 2019
Genre: Short Story Collection, World Fiction
Series: 
Edition: E-book
Pages: 206
Publisher: Fomite
Blurb:
The stories in this linked collection are set in a small village in the Northwest of Ireland in the early 1980’s and 90’s. A by-pass around the village has rid them of their once busy traffic. The residents feel forgotten by the world. The need to reach out and be heard is explored in every story, from the young woman who starts to have phone conversations with her husband’s gay lover, to the dyslexic man who confronts his cruel teacher years later.

The collection is not only about the characters need for salvation but it is about a society that is unraveling. In Amends, we hear about the Bishop who has fathered a child. A priest is beckoned by a dying man to be mocked. The world inside and outside the village is changing. In every story the characters need to make a choice on how they might carry on.

REVIEW

★★★★+1/2

Treading The Uneven Road by L.M. Brown is a beautiful collection of short stories about a small town in Ireland in the early ’80s and ’90s. I had a very good time reading this book and the thing I found most impressive about this story collection is that each and every story bore a plethora of emotions that were very real and relatable. Being from a small town myself, I enjoy books that display the lives of people in small towns, the highs and the lows of living in a close-knit and ever-watching society. So I really enjoyed this book.

All the stories were related in some way or the other and so they felt more like chapters than individual stories which was another thing that I liked as this made the overall theme more interesting. The characterization was good, the writing was good and the pacing was very good. I’d say this book would make for an excellent coffee table book.

I’d recommend this book to everyone who loves exploring new cultures and distinct works fo literature.

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon

I love reading your comments, so please go ahead…

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

I’m Heena

Welcome to The Reading Bud, my cosy corner of the internet dedicated to all things books and authors. Here, I invite you to join me on a journey of discovering under-represented books, independent and small press authors, and all things book with a touch of love and loud purrs. Let’s get Reading!

February 2019
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728  

Reading is like breathing to me.

Recent Posts

  • Book Review: The Grey Winter of the Enslaved (The Journey of the Wish Book 1) by Stefanos Sampanis

    Book Details: Author: Stefanos SampanisRelease Date: 19 January 2026Series: The Journey of the Wish (Book 1 of 2)Genre: FantasyFormat: E-book Pages: 435 pagesPublisher: –Blurb:I perceived the world and acknowledged all of its colours. There was truth; the kind…

  • ARC Review: Play From Your Heart by Scott Martin and Coryanne Hicks

    Book Details: Author: Scott Martin and Coryanne Hicks  Release Date: 9 June 2026Series: Genre: Soccer BiographyFormat: E-book Pages: 227 pagesPublisher: Library Tales PublishingBlurb:When rising college soccer coach Scott Martin was struck down by a rare, flesh-eating infection that took both…

  • Book Review: Inconclusive Volume 1 by Alexandra Devane 

    Book Details: Author: Alexandra DevaneRelease Date: 31 August 2025Series: The Shards of Sansatia Series (Book 1 of 2)Genre: Fantasy, Dark RomantasyFormat: E-book Pages: 139 pagesPublisher: –Blurb:Eighteen-year-old Acteo Venand is an elite striker cadet at Inoton Academy, a military institution that…

  • Book Review: The Abnormal Gumshoe (The Fayetteville Series Book 2) by Tamar Anolic

    The Abnormal Gumshoe by Tamar Anolic is an unusual and engaging mystery that begins with a woman slowly realising that the life built around her may not be the life she wants. The novel follows Chloe…

  • Author Interview: Luanne Castle

    Welcome to TRB Lounge. Today, I’d like to welcome Luanne Castle, author of Scrap: Salvaging a Family, for an author interview with The Reading Bud. About The Author Luanne Castle Luanne Castle’s hybrid flash memoir, Scrap: Salvaging a…