Sadness, anger, joy, happiness, love, lust Symptoms of Terminal Passion has it all. Chester Aarons compilation of short stories takes the reader to the depth of the soul of each character a part of each character that everyone one of us can relate to.

Aaron, a World War II veteran himself, references several of the stories during that era. There is much passion and compassion shown as the characters experience a blurb of their life. The sergeant lowered his eyes and turned away, knowing that if he did not turn away he would take her into his arms. He wanted to say, Wait, Ill get you a blanket, but when he looked back she was gone.

Other stories are of daily life, simple, yet with much deep meaning from raising a teenager to naming the hummingbirds that come to the feeder, from reclaiming ancestry to aging. Every story twists and turns within the plot, sometimes with a surprise ending, others with an aha and yet others with a hummm, thats interesting.

I found myself, after reading a story, sitting back and contemplating the situation. Its hard to pin point exactly what it was that struck a chord within me, yet something did. Aarons writing is uncomplicated, flows easy, and I found myself wrapped up in the story as though I was right there in each scene.

Symptoms of Terminal Passion
Chester Aaron
El Leon Literary Arts (2006)
ISBN 9780979298373
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (7/06)