Alyssa has just moved to a different New Jersey neighborhood when she meets Angie and decides to learn more about genetic disorders. While researching at the library, Alyssa uncovers important information about the history of Down syndrome, and concludes that Angie shouldn’t be defined by her condition alone. During the course of the story, Alyssa also explores her new surroundings, meeting an older woman who feeds pigeons, and other people in the local […]
Delicately skimming through two decades of life for one Tennessee family, Clouds Float South by Paul A. Broome is a subtly beautiful collection of interlinked stories about growing up and choosing who to become.
The broad time arc of this collection gives readers a piercing look into the Smith family as a whole, specifically via the experiences and dynamic youth of Alan, the narrator of these stories. His narrative voice also matures as the stories progress, from simplistic descriptions and observations to more lyrical, nuanced, and meaningful commentaries from his clever point of view. This seamless growth of the main […]
An emotionally astute short story collection about characters confronting relationship difficulties, Lata Gullapalli’s Three Loves and Other Stories is an intelligent book about the essential nature of spirituality and the process of making tough decisions.
Gullapalli’s narrators are mostly women of Indian background, facing an important turning point in their work or personal lives. In the title piece “Three Loves,” Sia is a young woman who feels suppressed by her family’s regressive opinions on feminist issues, and she decides to move away, starting a new job and develops a relationship with a man named Matt. Eventually, her romance begins to […]
The collection features six enchanting science fiction and fantasy tales, set everywhere from historical seventeenth-century England to the futuristic darkest reaches of space. Drake’s subjects also entertainingly run the gamut: the dead soul of a witch’s boyfriend trapped in a dreamcatcher, a surprising seance with a devilish twist written in play format, and a story about a declinatory sculptor inspired by the Biblical milieu of William Blake.[…]
Three intensely told stories capped off with a visceral crime novella, this is a seemingly easy escapist read, but the writing is smart and deeper than expected, from high-stakes morality parables to and illicit adventures that quickly get out of hand. O’Neill focuses a bit more on fast-talking dialogue and action sequences than he does on character development, but the world-building is immersive, with colloquial bits of nuance and detail that make the rugged scenes come […]
A remarkably gentle and probing look at seemingly simple, but deeply complex lives in Upper Appalachia, Furrow and Slice by Richard Snodgrass is a brilliantly penned collection of stories.
A fearless kaleidoscope of pastoral life, this collection is special for its unflinching honesty in the face of our collectively unspoken fears. With straightforward language and casual colloquial speech, the collection feels quite pared down at first glance, with the two- or three-page tales reading like parables. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the rich inner lives of each narrative voice are worth slowing down to enjoy every word.
“The Hill […]
Auriane de Rudder’s collection of short stories Not Literary is a showcase of an original narrative voice and gritty realism.
De Rudder’s stories are peopled with those you see at four AM, drinking like sunrise depended on it; the type of characters you partied with one night that you can barely remember. Reminiscent of Brett Easton Ellis, de Rudder explores many of the same themes – moving the time period from the eighties to the significant trials of this century. De Rudder has captured the aimlessness of post 9/11 youth, raised on cynicism and fear, when there wasn’t much else […]
“The Visions of Antonio” is a kaleidoscopic ride through the alcohol-soaked and story-filled mind of a bartender, one who has lost more than his fair share in life, but is too often stuck on the listening side of the bar. This romantic and heart-wrenching novella ends with a twist […]