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Letters from the Fire
"Letters from the Fire" by Alma A. Hromic and R.A.Deckert (Flamingo, pbk, $19.95) is tangible evidence of technology's influence on publishing. The email conversation that takes place in the book is dated between March and May of last year, and the book was published in September.
It is tempting to speculate that the authors of the book are also its correspondents. However, this is never made explicit. If this is the case, the ending struck me as contrived, but then, isn't all literature, to a greater or lesser extent?
I enjoyed this book. I liked the way the characters of the two correspondents, Sasha and Dave, and their relationship evolved through the correspondence. At first their conversations, which arise as debate about the NATO bombing of Kosovo last year, are fiery and impassioned. However, as their relationship develops, so does a kind of accord.
I particularly enjoyed Sasha's literary style. It was she, for instance, who introduced me to the happy thought that there might be cats in heaven and that cats have thoughts. Of course, any thinking cat already knows this.
i found myself in sympathy, too, with her outrage towards the complacent American man who, from the comfort of his swivel computer chair, sat in judgment on her country. I wonder that she ever forgave him, let alone fell in love with the guy. However, it can be said that Dave, by backing down early from his arrogant political stance, went some way toward redeeming himself.
The book also provided background and alternative views on the political situation in Kosovo, which was both informative and challenging. However, the book's main appeal for me lay in the exposition of each of the characters and in observing the development of their relationship.
Glennis Salmon