Short Stories Book Reviews

A disturbing but entrancing collection of stories, I, No Other by Yarrow Paisley is a post-modern plunge into the psychological fringes of human nature.

The narrative voices in this collection represent a shocking breadth of humanity, and the dark extremes of the psyche – a compendium of obtrusive thoughts made flesh, of dark fantasies and nightmarish realities that most readers would prefer to deny. A leering predator with the silver tongue of a scholar, an obsessed madman mentally escaping the bars that hold him; a man slowly builds himself into a pipe, only to experience a Kafka-esque transformation as he […]

An intense collection of characters in emotional tumult, Loves and Entanglements by Lewis Bogaty demonstrates the author’s sensitivity to the human condition, and the impossible choices we are so often forced to make.

These thirteen quick-moving vignettes vary in time period, subject matter, writing style, and tone, but are tied together by enticing human drama – desire, disappointment, heartbreak, and possibility. Some tales end with a sudden twist, others with a single powerful line that leaves the emotional weight hanging thick, without resolution, yet still somehow satisfying. Manipulating readers’ expectations and emotions with ease, this collection is a masterclass in […]

Compelling and compassionate, mysterious and melancholy, Soft & Rage by Myka Silber is an extraordinary set of short stories. Surefootedly spanning a dazzling array of genres and styles, the collection feels fused together by its beautiful writing, clear-eyed point of view, and profound concern with the human condition.

Although it treats many different themes and ideas, at its heart Soft & Rage is, above all else, a deep meditation on grief and loss. Viewed through the variety of lenses afforded by the range of story types, Silber comes at the issue from many different angles and is able to explore […]