"Without fanfare, Richard Badalamente drops the reader into the lives of three women visiting Egypt, the events of the past infusing the stories with poignancy, awareness, and irony. Each story opens into a subtly awakening awareness: the clamor of Luxor as backdrop, the rising tension of unnamed events, and the shifting energies as the stories unfold to reveal characters from two very different cultures. Badalamente brings the stories along with a deft hand, dialogue and narrative alternating with a spareness that allows the reader to fully experience the nuance of humor and detail."
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
New Publication: Three Women in Luxor
I just published a collection of very short fiction, titled "Three Women in Luxor."
Elizabeth has come to Luxor at her husband Brian’s suggestion. He thought a vacation in an exotic place like Egypt would help them deal with the loss of their young daughter, Molly. Brian “dealt with” things. Elizabeth wasn’t sure she could. And certainly not here in Luxor, in the Valley of the Dead.
Sandra looked for love in all the wrong places. Here she was in Luxor, Egypt, hurrying to meet Khalid on the steps of the Winter Palace Hotel. She was about to get something she hadn’t bargained for; at least not yet.
Helen’s husband had been dead for a year, killed by an acronym, the deadly IED. Now here she was in another desert, Egypt, trying to start a formulaic new life. Trying to please the Army psychologist, who seemed so earnest. But what beckoned to her here in Luxor was not new life, but old death. And she found it welcoming.