The Leopard and Other Stories

Book excerpt: In this collection of short stories the author explores a variety of topics pondering over the essence of love as in The Lovebirds and The Experiment, or describing reflections of an old man at the end of life in The Visit, or empathetically dissecting the making of a sociopath sentenced to death by comparing him to the instinctual life of a solitary predator of the Savannah in The Leopard. Humorous insights over a dysfunctional family united in spite of untold love is presented in A Rebellious Story while other stories such as Wife and Scrooge 2011 portray the disorganized and confusing conduct of two self absorbed men, who cannot appreciate the nurturing love that surrounds them. There are in addition two short stories contributed by guest writers. In The Rider (contributed by Catterina Coha) Clara creates her own reality show by glancing out of the big screen of the train window while in the apocalyptic The Eve (contributed by Jamie Marincola) husband and wife deal in different ways with extreme circumstances creating a humorous portrait of family life.