hauntingly beautiful - Rated 
I originally wrote a review of this some two years ago, which somehow seemed to go astray.
At the time I was deeply moved by these short stories. As a new father the narrative held particular relevance at that stage of my life, as the distant voices recollect family stories and experiences from the Lost Lake area where they spent their childhood. Stories of unspoken family secrets, desires and innocence combined with the joy of being a child and having time to just mess about, all tinged with the regret of time passing.
These stories are still vivid two years later, and without sinking into sentimentality, for me they are all about the importance of experience of family ties and of treasuring both while you can.
One of my favourite books ever.
A superb collection of short stories. - Rated
This book brought me more reading enjoyment than any I have read in a number of years. Slouka has a talent which only some short story writers possess--the ability to pull you into the narrative with the first sentence or two. The character insights are first-rate and each story is a polished jewel. A great read!
Beautifully written - Rated
This collection of essays and short stories is poignant. My eyes frequently teared over. It is rare, I think, to find lovely, melancholy tales that question love and sense of place and are written in a male voice from a male perspective. "Lost Lake", due to the finely crafted writing and the emotional chords it struck, has now been placed in a section of a bookcase where I safely guard two dozen books that are very important to me. Highly recommended for all readers, but particularly for men who see the world with a sensitive perspective, and who search to provide themselves with an emotional sense of time and place.
Beautiful storytelling - Rated
I was disappointed at first to see that these stories are loosely bound to a 'theme': one locale ("forty acres of water") one family (started in Czechoslavakia, emigrated to NY), and some ... fishing. I needn't have worried, because there is a world of experience and observation in these, along with masterful, thrifty use of language, attention to detail - and much love, yearning, and compassion. The voice is constant and consistent; the stories are told meticulously and with great clarity. "The Woodcarver's Tale," centered on the narrator's father, is heartbreaking. In "Equinox" Slouka combines the mundane and the tragic - seamlessly. A very satisfying collection of stories.
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