Down to a Sunless Sea

by Mathias B. Freese

Down to a Sunless Sea plunges the reader into uncomfortable situations and into the minds of troubled characters. Each selection is a different reading experience-poetic, journalistic, nostalgic,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1587367335
• ISBN13: 9781587367335
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Wheatmark
• Length: 148 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A door through other eyes

This is a very literary book---the words curl in and out in a sort of prose poetry, and I know there were historical and literary references I didn't catch. It is this without being elitist or pompous in the way that some literary pieces can be; there's no sense of the author trying to stump or impress the reader with his base of knowledge. He includes what's relevant and necessary to his pieces and that's all. Unlike many short story collections by a single author, this one varies dramatically from piece to piece. Each one is told in a voice appropriate to its subject, whether that's a barely literate high schooler scornful of his English teacher or the inner chatter of an obsessive-compulsive. What ties these stories together is Freese's remarkable empathy, his astonishing ability to get inside the heads of his characters and simply present them as who they are, show the world from their eyes without any outside judgments clouding the issue. A young man with a lame arm and foot (he's named them Ralph and Lon) swears and speaks frankly about all sorts of 'taboo' topics. A sighting of a bear in a rural community serves as a lesson in fear and normalcy. An old woman's chat with a boy on a bench one evening is a heart-breaking look at what it can mean to live life after a concentration camp. Several stories touch on the Holocaust from various directions, while others examine the everyday slings and arrows that leave their marks---for good or ill---on our psyches. These are fascinating stories, and I don't know how to adequately express how worthwhile they are.

From J. Kaye's Book Blog

Mathias Freese has been a clinical social worker and psychotherapist for twenty five years. By his own admission, he has a dark view of humanity, but has kept a wry sense of humor. He shows understanding and compassion to the deviant and damaged in these fifteen short stories which are collected in his book DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA. Jane Holt, MLA, wrote in the book's foreword "To be understood-to be felt- is the author's purpose in this collection of short stories as in all of his writings because it is his purpose in his relationships with others and the world at large." The stories are all different and there are no happy endings or sense of closure. "I'll make it, I think" is based on Freese's crippled cousin. "For a While, Here, In this Moment" was written for his daughter showing his understanding of her physical agony and despair. Dark humor shows in "The Chatham Bear" and "Arnold Schwarzenegger's Father Was a Nazi." Chatham Bear was based on actual events while Arnold's Father was written in 1991, before he became Governor of California. "Alabaster" is a about a concentration camp survivor, and "Juan Peron's Hands" is about a psychotic and how he has regained himself. "Little Errands" was scary; it was easy to see how a person can become neurotic. "Echo" ends with "What a lethally fascinating if not insular experience it must be to value one's own self above all others and not fully realize that narcissistic attraction for most of one's life." "Young Man" had emotionally died a long time before his actual death "Nicholas," who is in high-school, is a commentary about our educational system. "Billy's Mirrored Wall" shows how easy is for parents to instill their dysfunctional behavior in children. Another in this vein is "Mortise and Tenon", which make you wonder if this is another serial killer in the making. "Unanswerable" uses a lesson from a father to a son to illustrate the unanswerable - what ignites human beings to hate feverishly, kill wantonly in huge numbers, and revel in genocide and final solutions. Each of these short stories ignited in me despair, or pity, or anger. I look on these characters and feel compassion and understanding, while being a little repulsed of them or their situation. Regardless, each leads to reflective thought and a bit more insight into me. DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA is a great collection of dark, offbeat stories by the gifted and award winning author, Mathias B. Freese. While this might not be everyone's type of read, for those of you that like it or want to expand your reading, I highly recommend it.

A true 5-star read!

Reviewed by Edith Knehans Teacher and psychotherapist Mathias Freese has found his literary calling in the surreal stories he writes. Of particular note is Freese's new collection of short stories, Down to a Sunless Sea. Sunless Sea provides a wide range of reading, from the journalistic to the darkly humorous. The stories allow for the foibles of human nature, not excusing character flaws, but elevating the rest of us to a level of understanding not readily available in many works of this genre. The call to empathy is rife in Freese's stories. In "I'll Make It, I Think" the lead character's physical challenges are based on a relation of Freese's, giving Freese a intimate character insight on an emotional as well as intellectual level. Other stories reflect the pain and intensity Freese has experienced in his own life, expressed in a way that we can't help but feel the depths of despair of the characters he draws out though their individual suffering. Though the stories in this collection depict the more menacing side of human nature, Freese does give greater dimension to his characters though the glimpses of light that shines into their "sunless seas." This is a read recommended for those that relate to the condition of human isolation as well as well as the existence of personal humanity. Armchair Interviews says: Stories with powerful and personal impacts.

Freese's narrative voices are believable and perhaps that's what makes his stories all the more pain

Mathias B. Freese is an award- winning essayist and author of The i Tetralogy that I had reviewed and which was the 2007 Allbooks Choice Award. He has been listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who Among American Teachers, A Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers, and the International Authors Who's Who. Freese has now put together a collection of fifteen short stories that were previously published in various literary magazines, and as he indicated to me, they are a reflection of the weight of his twenty-five years practicing as a psychotherapist. His hope is that they demonstrate a vivid understanding as well as compassion toward the deviant and damaged. Freese paints vivid and poignant portraits of a cast of characters who in one way or another suffer from inner turmoil, yet for the most part, we are able to relate to them. Moreover, Freese's precise writing, his vividly descriptive language and his deep understanding of human nature all make for some very captivating reading as he probes and prods into the inner feelings of his characters. As an example, Little Errands deals with obsession as Freese relates the story of an individual who is unsure if he had in fact mailed two letters, one concerning the payment of a traffic ticket and the other a partial payment for carpeting. Our narrator is uncertain if the letters were properly placed in the mailbox and continually wrestles with himself, as he states: "I felt sure I had mailed them. I was unsure and uncertain. I'm sure the letters didn't fall outside the mailbox." What is noteworthy about this story is Freese does a wonderful job in evoking in his readers the same anxiety as that experienced by his narrator. In another short story, Nicholas, Freese's language is imaginative and very convincing where we are reminded about the kid who may have been in our class and who was always picked on by the teacher. The kid who says he may be slow in class but he is not a slow learner. It is just that he can't do class work, which he finds to be uninspiring and irrelevant. He also questions the individuals running the schools or as he states, "the wrong people are in charge." And, "Whose the bigger jerk, the teacher who gets paid peanuts or the electrishan who makes $15 or $20 an hour without college?" In Young Man, Freese deals with death and deftly leads us through the fraught emotional terrain of someone grappling with his purpose in life and coming to the self-assessment with his conclusion: "I can't be who I am even who I am is a nice guy because anyone who is fully who he is can't be-and that's fact. I can only be who I am covertly, never revealing who I am, and masquerading as a fellow struggler with others." Freese does not let us forget child abuse, as with Herbie, where he delves into a child's torments at the hands of his obnoxious father who castigates him for not being able to properly shine shoes and who refuses to let his son open a shoe shine stand on the street afte

Mathias Freese produces another potential award winner!

Genre: Short Stories/Fiction Title: Down to a Sunless Sea Author: Mathias B. Freese A collection of short stories from one of the most talented writers on today's literary scene; Mathias Freese repeats his award winning writing style and skill in this, his second book. Discerning readers that like to explore the dark corners, the psychological abyss of the human psyche will enjoy this collection. Mathias Freese has a talent for exposing the raw, painful experiences of life that we often choose to ignore or avoid, however they do not go away. This author brings them to the forefront, blatantly exposing the heart and soul of his characters. Characters that, whether we like it or not, we may identify with. Each story is unique in character and scene. This reviewer's favorite is "Alabaster", however each and every chapter captivated and opened my mind to reality often unseen. "I'll make it, I think" is an insight into the daily life of the disabled with all of its frustrations, hopefulness and hopelessness. "Billy's Mirrored Wall" takes a look at the often misunderstood, yet life-altering comments heard or overheard in childhood and carried into adulthood. "Juan Peron's Hands" introduces the macabre. Author, Mathias B. Freese has experienced life as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist and uses his life experience to bring his characters to life. He has an uncanny, yet compassionate insight into the human mind and gently exposes readers to his world in an enlightening and thought provoking way. The "i" Tetralogy was one of the most haunting, yet soul enriching books this reviewer has read. The book will stay on my personal library shelf for many years and now this second book by the same author will take up residence there. I may lend them but I will not relinquish these examples of great literary works. Highly recommended by reviewer: Shirley Roe, Allbooks Review.