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May 03, 2019VaughanPLDavidB rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This collection of stories has typewriters, of all things, playing prominent or background roles in all of them. My general feeling as I read was that if the author were not Tom Hanks, this collection would not have been published. But then, I also thought that if the author were not Tom Hanks I would not be reading it, so I guess the publishers got it right. There are a few stories in this collection that are sweet, one or two others poignant, but most of the rest can be described as either pointless or ridiculous. There are two things that are near and dear to the heart of of the author: WW2 soldiers and space exploration. While the story featuring space exploration can best be described as preposterous, Hanks reserved his best for the story of a couple of war buddies having their annual Christmas telephone conversation. It is by no means perfect, as I think Hanks jams too many themes into one short story, themes already covered in many other stories, including disabled veterans, PTSD, and gays serving in the military. There is also a story on time travel that stands out, but otherwise 2.5 stars for the overall quality of the collection, plus .5 to the author for giving it a shot.