Voices Hidden In The Valley »

This collection of short stories are for the most part introspective reveries, with a handful structured as new folktales suitable for campfire gatherings. The settings are presumably author Rosario's native Dominican Republic, although the stories mention few details anchored in a specific location. The existential language is often poetic and dreamlike. "... his voice was different, conceptual, irresistible, loaded with white melancholy..." With these words Melchor Rosario inadvertently makes a fair assessment of his own style in Voices Hidden in the Valleys.

Two stories which diverge from the dominant themes of fate, tenacity, loss, and unsettled guilt are quite successful. Both are taut with direct language and original subjects. "A Gray Look" is a particularly creepy tale which seems quiet at first but builds rapidly. Readers may feel a chill when they reach this line: "...I should always bring a strong shovel with me in case another look blocks the road."

The very brief "Bewitchment of Age" features an apt, credibly constructed unnamed young female protagonist whose line of fateful thinking rings true. Rosario has laid out simple ingredients for her possible doom, but lets her choose to create it herself. Another notable piece is "Letter For A Ghost": "Nothing is ordinary in this life. Everything has a spark of madness, a white flame that makes us hear magical voices singing miseries in C-Major."

This book is no Dominican travelogue, it is flashes in the synapses. Those who appreciate inward-reaching insight and fast sketches which impart meaning beyond that which is stated in print will find Voices Hidden in the Valley to be worth the read.

Todd Mercer, Reviewer, ForeWord Magazine, Clarion Review.