The Root of Evil...

Many people often misquote this particular bible verse,” the love of money is the root of evil” by saying instead that money is the root of all evil. In “A Dollar”, the authors allow the readers a peek into the chaos that greed and love of money create using three different short stories with diverse scenarios.

I thought the first short-story “Easy Street” was farfetched. Nevertheless, I did finish it but I have read better. In this story, Katrice is trying to hold on to the apartment house left to her by her father. However, she has a "do-wrong" man who loses money gambling on a regular basis. Fortunately, one of the residents, Paul, hits the lotto. But will he be willing to help out Katrice? More importantly, neither Paul nor Katrice expected the other residents to decide that Paul doesn't deserve the money. And one last twist, did Paul actually win the lotto or is he scamming?

In the second story, the main character in “Ghetto Fabulous” is just taking it one day at a time. She is real and tells her story with brutal honesty. She makes you sympathetic to how life just sometimes “happens”. When she hits the lotto, the folks come out of the woodwork. Funny how your friends increase when you have money. And suddenly no one cares that yesterday you were a single mother trying to survive in the ghetto.

Finally, in “One Night, Six Dreams”, again the storyline pushed the limit on realism. One person was designated to purchase the tickets for the $180 million jackpot. However, when their numbers fall, the celebration is a little premature because brother man decides to take the money all for him self. So begins a tale of how greed can make people do things they would never have dreamt: like murder. 

Altogether “A Dollar and a Dream” was a quick, enjoyable read. The title is a good analogy for the mantra of the main characters.

Leanna