Keeper of Secrets.... Translations of an Incident

The stories in Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident, are about what goes unspoken in relationships as much as they are about communication. The author, Anjuelle Floyd, plays with delightful phrasing, spinning the reader into an enigmatic world of guarded implication, daring the reader to discover the deeper meaning veiled in the words.

Keeper of Secrets is a collection of eight stories, all connected in some way by an incident that occurs in the first story. Every story flows along certain themes of inner conflict and resolution, melding into an entirety, while still maintaining each story as a stand-alone narrative.

I found some of the stories worked slightly better than others, but they were all engaging and compelling. The show more book plays out as a mosaic, each story a section of a beautiful picture, yet enjoyable on its own merit. The book explores sadness, regret, secrets and poignant struggles as each character tries to cope with or solve an emotional dilemma that plagues their lives.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the lyrical, spiritual quality that trickled from the pages and the complicated, yet hopeful attributes of the characters. It’s the type of book that you sink into and swirls around your senses. I can easily recommend it. show less

I got this as part of the Member Giveaway Program. Floyd is an LT author, looking for attention for her intertwined stories of loss and redemption.

Her prism for divining the paths that light takes from a single source through many bends and twists is unusual: A couple, having dinner in a pleasant, upscale restaurant, erupt into violent conflict, almost ending in murder. The murder is prevented by the intervention of another couple dining in the restaurant.

And then...? Through eight stories, Floyd traces the steps of connection and the effects and aftershocks of the event on the lives of couples and would-be couples whose tethers to life, to love, to themselves and each other, are re-defined in the light this occurence casts, colored and show more fractured and focused and refined each step of the way. The connecting thread among the stories is thematic...big changes are a-comin'...and the central conceit of the event in the restaurant is continued by the increasingly tangential connections the actors in the stories bear to each other.

It's a creative idea, and it serves the author well in making the reader feel a sense of involvement with characters moving through otherwise inexplicably similar emotional landscapes. Floyd thereby turns a perceived problem into a perceived asset...there is a karmic, spiritual *reason* all these people are dealing with similar issues, they all *know* each other!

"Dancing Siva" introduces the theme of change resisted then embraced; it is a strong story. The other stories vary from good to okay, the weakest link coming with a story called "Myrandha", which uses the coincidence trope a LOT too freely. Possibly the most moving, most unsettling story is "In Baghdad," the last of the eight. Its changes, reflecting war in Iraq, in the home, and in the body, are the most sharply delineated of them all. You can cut yourself on the edges of the characters' dialogue. It deserves its place of honor at the end of the collection.

I recommend the book, with a reservation...it's curiously monotonal in writing style, though I wondered if this wasn't a deliberate choice on Floyd's part; that I *had* to wonder is a whole half-star off her "score." Anyone feeling unmoored or unnerved might find this a very timely read.

edited/double posted same review, sorry! show less

Received a complimentary copy in an author giveaway (via LT).

The premise of Keeper of Secrets reminded me of Rashomon (the film): a central event interpreted differently by various people witnessing or involved in it. Floyd's approach is distinct but no less satisfying, focusing not so much on varying interpretations of precisely 'what happened', as on how the same event can evoke different things in different people, dependent upon their individual values, situations, dilemmas.

The eight interlocking stories are quite complex, and I welcomed the dramatis personae provided at the beginning. Normally I consider this a conceit unless there is a cast of thousands, but despite the short list of names in each story, it was quite useful, show more especially the notes re: which characters appeared in which other stories. Careful, though: there is a spoiler or two in here, so only refer to it while actually reading the story in question!

My overall impression is that Floyd put a great deal of thought into each character's personal challenges: their origins, their insecurities, their history with other characters and how they've addressed or avoided these challenges. Evidently several of these stories were adapted from (unpublished?) novels, which probably accounts for the weightiness of the characters. As a consequence, the stories read as I imagine case notes read: concise descriptions of key facts, analysis of meaning and descriptions of the patient's status. "Case notes with dialogue", I described them to a clinical therapist I know.

The most significant shortcoming of the book, in fact, is that the writing often draws attention to itself and away from the story. Floyd's dialogue flows naturally, while her descriptions are more stilted. But this varies, with the first piece, "Dancing Siva", (also the longest and most involved) particularly strong in this impression, while one of the shortest, "Myrandha", avoids this almost entirely. I wonder if "Myrandha" was written appreciably later, and Floyd had grown as a writer by this time. Interestingly, "Myrandha" was written specifically as a short story and not adapted from other material.

Keeper of Secrets is a very satisfying example of psychological fiction, grounded in psychological theories and dynamics but entirely free of theoretical passages. I look forward to Floyd's writing craft rising to the level of her clear understanding of how a person's history affects behavior and thinking.

Keeper of Secrets was sent to me free from the author through the LibraryThing member giveaway program in exchange for review. show less

Keeper of Secrets... Translations of an Incident is composed of eight short stories united by strong characters and revolving around one central incident. The stories are each told from a different point of view and reveal how the central incident affects the lives of the witnesses and even of people who were not present during the incident - like the ripples made by a stone as it impacts the water in a still pond.

Anjuelle Floyd is a master storyteller, who weaves the threads of her stories into a finely woven tapestry, rich with meaning. This anthology is captivating from the first sentence to the last. I've always admired writers who can weave their magic tales with an economy of words; no words are wasted here. These short, powerful show more stories will stay in my mind awhile just as this book will remain part of my permanent collection. I will need to read Keeper of Secrets... Translations of an Incident again - and more slowly - to absorb the full meaning of these stories.

Recommended for readers looking for extraordinary, both entertainment and intellectual stimulation are found within the pages of this excellent collection. This book would make excellent discussion material for a high school or college literature class.

Keeper of Secrets was sent to me free from the author through the LibraryThing member giveaway program in exchange for review. This review was simultaneously published on Amazon.com, Dragonviews, and LibraryThing show less

Keeper of Secrets... Translations of an Incident is, for all intents and purposes, a collection of short stories dealing with several people who are all somehow connected in an elaborate social network (as in, their social lives overlap with one another, not that they use Facebook or anything). Most of the stories focus on an incident that happened at a swanky restaurant: a woman with pink hair threatens a man with a knife.

I didn't particularly like this book. The major reason why was the exposition overload that happened every time the reader was introduced to a new character. "Meet Tom, (insert Tom's life history here). He was making a sandwich." Then later on, "Meet Mary. (Reasons why Mary hates Tom here), Tom's wife." I find this to show more be insulting, as a reader, and prefer to get to know the characters through the events that happen to them in the story, instead of being force-fed a load of backstory before I have to carry on reading about them.

Another problem I had was that all the stories seemed very much alike. One character was usually some mental health professional. Two characters were having trouble with their relationship. A former love interest of one of the characters is now a best friend. So forth. This made it feel tedious, like I was just reading the same story, recast. The patterns for each story seemed too similar to one another, rendering it less than enjoyable.

The final thing I found irritating was the author's always pointing out the characters' races, aside from the one or two times in which it was actually relevant to the story. It seemed the stories were trying too hard to make you painfully aware of race with no reason behind it other than to say "look at the color of this person's skin." I'd rather hear more about the content of the character's, well, character.

As I said above, I did not particularly like this book. Thankfully, it was short, but that did not keep me from taking longer than I'd like reading it. You may like the book, especially if you are a mental health professional, or live in the Bay Area, or both. But if you're like me, you're best probably avoiding it. show less

Keeper of Secrets..Translations of an Incident, is a fascinating great read. It is composed of 8 short stories, all connected by one incident. A near stabbing occurs in a restaurant, and everyone who was present is affected by this. Past memories, some tragic are resurfaced and each character is faced with accepting and dealing with their past. Jealousy, infidelity, mental illness are just a few of these "inner secrets" that arise in Keeper.

“Keeper of Secrets...Translations of an Incident”, is a wonderfully evocative book. Anjuelle Floyd provides a beautifully crafted emotional journey for her readers.

Each story revolves around a central incident – a conflict in a restaurant – that somehow involves each character, changing their lives.

“The Keeper of Secrets” is an emotional character study. Floyd writes with a penetrating tenderness as she explores the emotions of her characters, showing their strengths and flaws. The characters withstand her probing, stepping forth renewed; stronger, more confident and spiritually centered than before.

I greatly enjoyed “The Keeper of Secrets” and highly recommend it. I also greatly enjoyed reading Floyd's second book, show more “The House”. show less