Reviews of
“Madness Lies and Other Stories”
“Eve Bonham’s collection of sixteen short stories reflect the lives, minds and circumstances of people in a variety of situations…. Each story focuses around the experience of a different individual, and the way in which their actions lead to change in their own lives or the lives of those around them. ….. The overarching theme of madness is explored in many of the stories; further topics include happiness, generosity, risk, loneliness, friendship and love. ..…The familiarity of connecting story themes, juxtaposed with the fact that each story is self-contained, ensures that this is a thought-provoking and entertaining read.”
The Woman Writer, November 2008
Her first book is a collection of 16 quirky short stories written with sparkle, humour and compassion. The experiences she has had trigger her ideas, and the people she has met inhabit her stories.
Dorset Echo, September 2008
“After a lifetime of scribbling stories, keeping diaries, penning letters, telling tall tales and writing articles for magazines, Eve Bonham has finally written her first book and got it into print. ‘Madness Lies and Other Stories’ is a collection of sixteen short stories inspired by people she has met and her many experiences.”
Blackmore Vale Magazine, September 2008
“This is a collection by local author Eve Bonham.…. They are stories about people who change things, causing lives to take a different direction, and do make it a great book to dip in and out of for some thought-provoking stuff.”
Dorset Magazine, December 2008
“Eve Bonham’s delightful ‘potpourri’ of short stories seeded from her life of adventure and travel…I have read from cover to cover and can recommend highly.”
Squadron Buzz, September 2008
Other writing by Eve Bonham has included articles in various sailing magazines and journals (Yachting Monthly, Yachts & Yachting, Roving Commissions); various fine art publications (Antique Dealer & Collector’s Guide, Antiques Trade Gazette, Art & Antiques Weekly); in the Economist; and other national and regional monthly magazines. She is a member of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists.
MADNESS LIES AND OTHER STORIES
is the author’s first collection of short stories. The seeds of each story grew from real experiences and encounters, watered by a fertile imagination. Here is an adept storyteller who writes with sparkle, humour and compassion.
The title story “Madness Lies” is a twisty tale of lost roads and signposts, involving a lying taxi-driver, a highway inspector turned sleuth and a deranged farmer with a gun. Its themes of folly and deceit are echoed in “Requital” in which a foolish woman seeks revenge on a dishonest silversmith and a selfish husband. In “Noise”, there is a flautist who recounts how his neighbours are driven demented by the illusion of noise, and in “Sauce” a monk runs amok with a ketchup bottle at a party. “Blind Love” is about a love affair, disabled by prejudice, whilst “Fly Baby” is a tall story of a misadventure in the 1970’s involving an aeroplane in Laos and a damsel in distress.
These stories are about people who change things, causing lives to take a different direction. “Evanescence” is concerned with friendship, and when the crew of a sailing boat disclose their ambitions, one of them decides to make these happen. In the story “Wet Floors” a saint with a mop frees a hospital patient from his self-imposed isolation, whilst in “Hotei” a china mender relates how he gained and lost his happiness at an auction sale. “Poker Faces” is about risk and generosity, culminating in a tense game between a poker-playing hotelier and his nephews, and “Soul Trader” is a racy tale about a bond trader who commits arson.
There are quirky stories such as “Gingko” which describes a colonel’s love for a married woman and her tree, and “Scars” which tells of an accident to someone who cannot stand the sight of blood. We read in “Poste Restante” about a compulsive letter writer on her travels, and in “Dragon’s Mouth” about someone who, though afraid of the dark, makes a daunting night voyage. “Mirror Image” is a ghost story concerning twins and an elopement.