Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

I was really interested in this but I did end up DNFing this book as it did not capture my attention. I found myself struggling to attach to any character. The book felt disconnected and the story did not capture my attention.

Due to DNFing I can not review much further.

While technically sound, the short stories in this collection just aren't very interesting. It felt like a slog reading through all of them, and while they're all rather different, none of them really manage to stick out. The author clearly has a distinct style that I'm sure will suit some people's taste, and it's clear that there's skill behind these works, but they were not for me.

Bruce Johnson’s “Love, Dirt” is a collection gathering about fifteen short sorties of varying lengths and genres.

From a brother asking his sister to protect her while he sells his body for some extra cash to a man who decides to take sayings literally in hope of an easier life, Johnson thoughtfully explores family, friendship and love : what it might mean for different people and how it shapes them.

In the short time we spend with them, all of his characters carve a place for themselves inside our hearts, and we can’t help but empathise with them and be sad to part with them once we turn the last page. Their experience are ours and we are left raw as we learn through them.

I would say more, however, I think the less you know about this book going into it, the better. If your interpretation is stained by another person’s, it just wouldn’t be the same.

On another note, I do feel a bit icky about how few female characters there were and how they were written, which is why I rate this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)