EAST MORICHES, New York (PRWEB) January 09, 2015 -- Author Alfonso Burrelli's finesse for observation and profound existential beliefs interweave to create a literary masterpiece that dwells on humanity's loss of "Eden" and its desire to regain that realm of happiness and fulfillment. "Nuggets" (published by Xlibris) is Burrelli's poignant collection of short stories, published by his wife some months after the author's death at the age of 81.
In this aptly titled anthology, Burrelli offers his personal observations on the human condition as well as the "nuggets" of precious wisdom the reader might extract from them. The settings of these stories are varied and range from a cabin in the freezing northlands to a baronial palazzo. In compelling scenes of betrayal, despair, murderous rage, hallucination and violence, the moral of these tales is implicit: humanity has lost its way, and Eden appears to be out of reach. Redemption beckons, however, in the form of love and acceptance and without limitations of age.
While the emotional tenor of many of the stories is dark and forbidding, it is counterbalanced by the sheer joy of the stories that celebrate young love, belated love, and the good will of rescuers and Samaritans. Eden emerges triumphant in this collection through the author's belief that while humanity creates its own brand of evil, it is also capable of engendering its own "miracles."
It was the author's hope that the reader would extract "nuggets" of wisdom from the narrative of these stories that would help recalibrate one's reactions to life's problems. Vengeance, violence, dishonesty, egoism are not the way. The road to Eden requires that one abandons those solutions and attain redemption through honesty, forgiveness, acceptance and above all, love.
The anthology also includes Burrelli's last 'little story', recounted by his wife, Dr. Louise Burrelli, in the foreword of the book.
“Nuggets”
By Alfonso Burrelli
Hardcover | 6x9in | 90 pages | ISBN 9781503517240
Softcover | 6x9in | 90 pages | ISBN 9781503517257
E-Book | 90 pages | ISBN 9781503517264
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Alfonso Burrelli was born in New York to Italian immigrant parents who eventually settled on Long Island. He graduated from Hofstra College and held a Master's degree in the humanities from Stony Brook University and a Master's degree in Education from Columbia University. He taught English in the public schools of New York and Long Island for over 25 years. He wrote this collection of short stories in retirement during the last five years of his life. He was awarded a literary prize for his first short story "The Bride Wore Red" ("Winning Writers") and was a frequently published contributor to the The Easthampton Star, and to the "Letters to the Editor" pages of both Long Island's Newsday and The New York Times. He was married to Louise Fumo Burrelli, Ph.D. (Columbia University, N.Y.) and lived on Long Island with their two children until his death in 2014 at age 81.
Xlibris Publishing, an Author Solutions, LLC imprint, is a self-publishing services provider created in 1997 by authors, for authors. By focusing on the needs of creative writers and artists and adopting the latest print-on-demand publishing technology and strategies, we provide expert publishing services with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound and full-color formats. To date, Xlibris has helped to publish more than 60,000 titles. For more information, visit xlibris.com or call 1-888-795-4274 to receive a free publishing guide. Follow us @XlibrisPub on Twitter for the latest news.
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