Homemade Love

I received this book as a graduation gift in 1992 and have read it at least five times since then. This book is a collection of warm, sad, funny, deep stories. Homemade Love is about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. One particular story of a country born and raised man who becomes fascinated with the lights and sights of the big city, teaches the lesson that we often don't know what we have until we don't have it anymore. Yet while teaching this lesson, the story will have you laughing out loud. Other stories have lesson to be learned but do it in such a hilarious and sometimes emotional way that you forget you're learning something in the process.

Cooper is a master at revealing truths about simple, yet complex life events. These stories are some of her best (and I've read all her short stories). Her characters are real people like my aunts and uncles and cousins and myself. Common ordinary events are handled with care and insights that most of us don't have. Each story is a perfect jewel; all the elements are clearly defined in language that I can not only understand, but which evoke deep feelings in me. I KNOW her characters as surely as I know my friends and relatives. Cooper is an extraordinary writer! If she reads this I want to know when she will publish another short story collection.

I recently recieved a book by J. Califorina Cooper as a gift, "In Search of Satisfaction", and I have been hooked every since. After reading that book, I realized I had to have all of her books. She is such a gifted author. The books are so good that I refuse to read them, one after the other, because I don't know when the next one will come out. I'll have to make them last for a while.I have read a few short stories, but the ones that are in Homemade Love are by far the best. Each story has a lesson on life. The stories were were simple and easy understand. I found myself laughing out loud and wanting to call someone to read a portion of the story to. As I have said before, if I had a reading group, J.Califorina Cooper would be at the top of the list.