Goodreads Reviews for Carny Short Stories Volume 1

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Emmett Grogan

★★★★★

May 26, 2022

Man, this guy can write! He has a great voice. His stories are very entertaining. The next time I see S.E. Tomas on the street in downtown Toronto, I'm going walk right up and shake his hand, give him $25, and grab Volume 2 of "Carny". If you're reading this review, you should do the same.

Jay

★★★☆☆

August 18, 2021

** spoiler alert ** 3.5 rounded down

A short collection of hilarious stories about Jim, the teenage carny. You follow Jim from Edmonton to Florida as he works different jobs within the carny world (games, parking, set-up, teardown) and goes on exciting adventures (after-hours bars, crack binges, petty theft). The stories flow into one another seamlessly and are told in honest detail; if you've gone to carnivals in North America there's almost a sense of nostalgic feel to S.E. Tomas' short descriptions.

One downfall of the stories flowing into each other is that some stories seem more like segues rather than complete stories that stand on their own. It's not a big deal though, because the collection reads like one big book. Another small grievance is how thin the collection is...I think every person who read it wanted a few more stories :p

My favorite story was the first one - Crumpled Twenty. I also liked the final three, when he was influenced in various ways by crack.

Patricia Atkinson

★★★★☆

June 24, 2020

the stories of jimmy when he worked at the carnivals and things he did.

Cathy

★★★★★

October 6, 2019

Welcome to the world of precarious employment! Jim takes you on a helluva rollercoaster ride during his daily adventures as a freelance carny and temp worker. Again, told with great story telling deets, you feel the weather of that day, see the people and situations he encounters, and root for this likeable character. I especially enjoyed the story about the lazar pointer. You won't want the stories to end, and will soon realize, there's a little carny in all of us!

Krista-Marie

★★★★★

December 13, 2017

I really enjoyed the insight into the carnival world behind the scenes and it's really interesting to hear about the various stages of the author's life from squeegeeing to carnival-ing and his addiction to crack. It's been quite the journey!