Key West is a place of irony. A tropical paradise with a rich history and strong literary presence now overrun with bawdy paradise seekers that have little inkling of the history of the place or most of the literature that has been spawned or created there over the years (or of the writers that have made the island home - with one six-toed cat exception). In the stories in Key West Tales John Hersey mines both the irony and the history as well as the humanity of the people of Key West.

In one of several pieces set in the past a wrecker-preacher uses the view from the pulpit to get a jump on his flock when he spots a “wreck ashore!” on the reef while preaching I Corinthians about winning a race and receiving a prize. In “Did You Ever Have Such Sport?” John James Audubon visits the Keys and proceeds to kill “four hundred and seventy-two” birds. In “Cuba Libre!” a failed attempt to liberate Cuba ends with a daring bacon-fueled escape when the steamship running back to Key West with the raiders runs out of wood. And Hemingway is writing in his head while he boxes a challenger dockside.

In more recent times, a manipulative dying man is dependent on those he hasn’t treated well. A mustang naval officer is retiring to an uncertain future with a skeptical wife. A wedding dress abandoned at a dry-cleaners prompts the tale of a wind-surfer who abandons his wife and daughter to chase the wind.

In this collection Hersey creates masterful stories that capture the spirit – both past and current – of Key West. ( )