Scouting for the Reaper by Jacob M. Appel

The offense, in this instance, is that my father had agreed to deliver a lecture in Denver Colorado the following Saturday, without first consulting her. Up her 'good years' and spitting her out once she'd passed forty. She accused him of ruining her life, of using 'selfish bastard' who couldn't be trusted. She rubbed her hands anxiously-like Lady MacBeth in the senior class play-and called my father a 'shit-fucker' and Linoleum in her threadbare orange bathrobe. It was impossible to tell whether his grim expression reflected displeasure, or merely indifference. Newspaper editor with his tie hanging loose around his neck and his shirtsleeves bunched up at the elbows. My father sat silently at the kitchen table, looking like an old time This was a ritual they'd gone through at least once a month since my earliest memories – – a Jewish variation on 'I arrived home to find my parents arguing bitterly. The first story in this collection is called: 'Choose Your Own Genetics'. I just noticed this book is on sale - Kindle download - for 99 cents. In this review - I'll share a few excepts - without spoiling anything. I've written a number of reviews about how I feel about Jacob's stories - I LOVE THEM! 'Scouting The Reaper', is a terrific collection of 8 short stories. He currently practices psychiatry in New York City. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a J.D. in playwriting from Queens College, an M.P.H. in creative writing from New York University, an M.F.A. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, an M.F.A. in bioethics from the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College, an M.D. Henry Award (2001), Best American Short Stories (2007, 2008), Best American Essays (2011, 2012), and received 'special mention' for the Pushcart Prize in 2006, 2007, 20. His work has been short listed for the O. He has published short fiction in more than two hundred literary journals including Agni, Conjunctions, Gettysburg Review, Southwest Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and West Branch.

His short story collection, Scouting for the Reaper, won the 2012 Hudson Prize. Appel's first novel, The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up, won the Dundee International Book Award in 2012. Please email me directly if you are interested** **Please note: A limited number of complimentary electronic copies of several of my books are available for review.

Scouting for the Reaper by Jacob M. Appel