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Rating: 
Summary: Memorable characters and situations
Review: Joel Kostman provides at least two essential services: locksmithing and storytelling. He is calm, smart, and - this unfolds with the stories - a careful observer-participant. In addition he is often saving the day for his characters, and he is humble.These stories are great and short (as in, most are ten or fewer pages long) but each with a distinct purpose. You also find out that the narrator's brother, now schizophrenic, was once a Professor of Philosophy - and that Kostman knows an important moment when he meets one. He likes people, and they like him. You understand why. This is a fine collection of stories that are unpretentious, elegantly simple, and very humane.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: The day I moved to NYC, Joel was my locksmith, and I'm happy to say he's as brilliant a writer as he is/was a locksmith. His book is wonderful-it does exactly what you want great art to do. It's heartbreaking at turns, hilarious at others, it's a sly and witty Valentine to NYC, and it's just flat-out wonderful. I can't wait to see what he'll do next.
Rating: 
Summary: Joel should stick to being a locksmith!
Review: While Joel Kostman appears to be a very good locksmith, this book illustrates that he is not a very good author. The 14 tales are uninteresting, if not downright boring. Not one of the tales was a 'fun' read. The book is basically an oversized pamphlet, 130 plus small pages. Hire Joel to fix your locks, but do not buy his book.
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