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Mark W Sasse
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The Recluse Storyteller Kindle Edition

by Mark W Sasse (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 55 ratings
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The twins, beckoned by an ominous streak of light across the sky, climb Harper's Hill to encounter an apparition of their missing father.

The reverend stands on a muddy ridge, the barrel of a rifle in his neck, looking down on a Vietnamese village, scarred by war and regret.

The brash terrorist, Red Hat, desperately tries to walk away from life unscathed and unattached.

The stories haunt Margaret every waking moment, but they are anything but random. A fractured view Michael Cheevers' red hat through a discreetly cracked door sends her off on adventure. A glimpse of the Johnson twins from apartment 2D transports her mind to the lonely hill on a Midwestern prairie in 1887. The regular letters from Reverend Davies bring her to the brink of exhaustion as she stares intensely into the heart of war, deep in the jungle of Vietnam.

Margaret is not insane, at least not in a clinical sense. She's like a midnight raccoon, painfully aware of her surroundings, gleaning crumbs of information at every turn. Her eyes peer incessantly in the night, stealing glances of the neighbors through partially opened doors.

But the tales she weaves were not meant to merely hold empty court to the receptive dead air of her apartment. Her stories were meant to embolden the lives of the inhabitants of that drab apartment block because her story is also their story--and everything would be different if they could only hear the prophetic words of the rambling recluse.

The Recluse Storyteller weaves five stories into one as the loner, Margaret, not only searches for meaning from her reclusive life, but also gives meaning in the most unexpected ways to the troubled souls of her apartment complex. Part adventure, part tragedy, and part discovery, The Recluse Storyteller bridges genres, bringing hope, life, and redemption to the broken relationships of modern society.
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  1. Print length
    231 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    October 6, 2013
  5. File size
    4291 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"5 Stars. Spellbinding." M. George, The Kindle Book Review"5 Stars. An Exquisite Multi-Layered Story." Eileen Granfors, Author of The Pinata-Maker's Daughter"5 Stars. This talented author has done it again." Author Dolores Ayotte"5 Stars. [Sasse has an] outstanding ability to weave the past and present and create a character so strong, dynamic and unique that we hope [the recluse] relates more stories." Book Reviewer Fran Lewis

About the Author

Novels by Mark W. Sasse:A Love Story for a Nation (July 2015)
The Reach of the Banyan Tree (July 2014)
The Recluse Storyteller (Oct 2013)
Beauty Rising (Dec 2012)

"To highlight the emotional human connection that binds us all. That's my goal when writing. I write stories which speak of real life, both contemporary and historical, and I write stories that cross-cultures simply because I've lived in Southeast Asia (Vietnam & Malaysia) for most of the last twenty years." - mws 
Mark Sasse loves Asia, Asian food, Asian culture, and Asian living. Originally from western Pennsylvania, he has spent most of the last twenty years living in Southeast Asia. He lived in Vietnam for 10 years and now lives in Penang - a beautiful island - which has been his muse the last few years - and a productive few years it has been.
Sasse has written more than a dozen original full-length plays and musicals, which he has directed and produced for the stage. He won the Best Script award two years running (2013-2014) at the Short & Sweet Theatre Festival Penang. His dramatic works have also been performed in Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, Australia. In December 2012, he published his first novel, Beauty Rising,which has been beautifully received. It comes right out of his passion and experiences in Vietnam. His second novel, The Recluse Storyteller, delves deep into the mind of a recluse who has been keeping many secrets for a long time. His third novel, The Reach of the Banyan Tree is a love story that chronicles the lives of a grandfather, father, and son, spread out on an epic scale in Vietnam 1945 and 2000. 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00FOBQ464
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mark W Sasse (October 6, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4291 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 231 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 55 ratings

About the author

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Mark W Sasse

Mark W Sasse

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Mark W Sasse is a novelist and award-winning playwright. He is a theatre enthusiast and love directing and producing shows. Sasse’s novels have been featured on curated sites such as Bookbub, Freebooksy, and EReaderNewsToday while his plays have been produced in New York, Penang, Columbus, Kuala Lumpur, and Sydney, Australia, among other places. His play "The Last Bastion" earned him the 2018 Greywood Arts Winter Writing Residency in Ireland. He is also a three-time winner of the Best Script Award at the Penang Short & Sweet Theatre Festival. His plays have won multiple other awards such as Best Overall Performance and Audience Choice Award. He won the Festival Director’s Award at the 2019 and 2016 festivals.

Sasse has lived overseas for more than two decades in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia. Sasse’s interests cast a wide net – from politics to literature – from culture and language to history and religion, making his writing infused with the unexpected as he seeks to tell authentic and engaging stories about people from all walks of life. His writing is straightforward and accessible to all, especially those who enjoy a page-turning good story injected with doses of history, adventure, Asian culture, and unexpected humor.

As for his plays, he’s fond of both the short play (10 minutes or less) and full-length formats. From 2011-2017 he wrote for and directed the drama ensemble The RLT Players, a passionate group of dramatic storytellers who specialized in the short play format. In September 2016, his experimental theatre piece “How to Build a Dictator” was featured as part of Penangpac’s Black Box Experiments series.

Currently, he lives in Jamestown NY where he produces theatre shows, manages a theatre for a SUNY school, and, of course, writes!

The Complete List of Published Works by Mark W Sasse

NOVELS

Lady Trieu and the Demon Warrior of Hanoi (2023)

Christmas in '45 (2022)

The Lost Lineup: Myths & Tales of the Winasook Iron Horses (2022)

A Diamond for Her: Myths & Tales of the Winasook Iron Horses (2021)

Moses the Singer (2020)

A Parting in the Sky (The Forgotten Child Book 3) (2019)

The African Connection (The Forgotten Child Book 2) (2018)

A Man too Old for a Place too Far (The Forgotten Child Book 1) (2017)

Which Half David: A Modern-day King David Story (2016)

A Love Story for a Nation (2015)

The Reach of the Banyan Tree (2014)

The Recluse Storyteller (2013)

Beauty Rising (2012)

THE SHORT PLAY COLLECTION

Monologues for Audition, Classroom, and Stage (coming 2021) (Short Play Collection Vol 5)

Tales of Redemption: Christian Themed-Plays for Stage, School, or Church (Short Play Collection Vol 4)

Dear High School (Short Play Collection Vol 3)

Tales of Wonder: Sacred and Secular Christmas Plays (Short Play Collection Vol 2)

Theatrical Duets for Stage, Competition, and Classroom (Short Play Collection Vol 1)

OTHER PLAYS

The Folly of Progress (2017)

The Last Bastion (2017)

How to Build a Dictator (2016)

The Secrets of the Magic Pool (2016)

Grandparents’ War (2013)

Romans on the Couch (2011)

SHORT STORIES

The Hundred Pitch At-Bat (2019)

Jolly Old St. Hick (2018)

Christmas in the Trenches, 1914 (2016)

If Love is a Crime: A Christmas Story (2014)

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
55 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Colleen M. Chesebro
5.0 out of 5 stars This was an excellent read. The intertwining lives of the characters had ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2014
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This was an excellent read. The intertwining lives of the characters had me really guessing. Well done. Thank you for offering the book as free. You should charge for this one!
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TootSweet
4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2014
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I'm amazed. Simply thrown back. The story is extremely well plotted. It is superb. The characters fit perfectly together, similar to a puzzle. I couldn't put the book down and when I did my mind wandered back to it. That's how good this author is!
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miwealia
5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious story that pulls you in deeper with every chapter
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
This second book of Mark's is head and shoulders above his previous book, "Beauty Rising." While I definitely enjoyed reading about Vietnam in his previous book, it didn't have a satisfactory ending. The Recluse Storyteller, however, grabbed your attention and didn't let you go until the final scene.

From the very beginning the reader wonders about the main character, her eccentricities, and her interaction with the others in her apartment building. Is she just a recluse, or is she much more? How does she know so much about her neighbors? What enables her to weave her stories? Excellent story development!
One person found this helpful
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Eagleman73
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2014
When I first started reading this book I wasn’t too sure that I would enjoy it however as time progressed I started to enjoy the unique storytelling.

The story centers around Margaret who is a recluse living in an apartment building and will onlyleaves her apartment when she knows everyone else around is sleeping (so usually late at night). Margaret may not really know her neighbors personally has she hasn’t talked to any of them but unware to them she watches them and creates stories based on each and every one of them.

The book contains five stories each different from the other however as the story continues they start to interwin with each other and coming to one main story of the inhabitants of the apartment building.

I did find the style of writing hard to follow as it seemed to jump around and I found myself getting lost between what was Margaret’s stories that she was writing or what was “real”. With that being said, the author’s style is very unique and all though I struggled with balance so to speak in the book, I thought he wrote the story quite well and the flow was good.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Unique story
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
It took me almost half of the book to realy get into the story. It is bizaar but enjoyable. When it gets to the last chapter and the lives of the participants is explained you still come away from this with a question "but what about Margaret?".
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Christine Angel
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and very enjoyable read! It took me awhile to get into it, but once I realized what was happening I it was too lat
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
Well written...all in all a good read. It took me awhile to figure out what was happening, but once I settled in I was hooked!
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donna b
5.0 out of 5 stars Really a great book
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2014
Verified Purchase
I loved this story. After I finished the book I checked to see what else Mr Sasse had written as I usually do when I really enjoy a book. I realized I had read his other book (Beauty Rising) about six months ago and It is terrific also. Bravo.
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Dennis A. Tyas
4.0 out of 5 stars Truth behind a door...
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2014
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Each character's "story" is intimate and intense. The potent blend of present incidents into the storyteller's narrative produces an alluring reality to the 'fiction'.
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