Dear beloved readers,
Hello! Given I have started this in March, here are my favourites from the last two months. Consider it a deluxe edition for the early subscribers (and thank you all for being here!)
For those of you who have heard me talk about these already, I’ve added a few bonus favourites at the end, though I can’t promise you haven’t heard about those also…!
Feel free to let me know what you think of any of these or share some of your own recent favourites. Happy reading ~
January and February’s favourites
Let’s Play Dead - Senaa Ahmad. What if Anne Boleyn can never die? What if she is killed again and again and comes back every time? This is the first piece by Senaa Ahmad I’ve read and it was a wicked time. ‘Let’s make it so she can’t escape. Let’s seal the bottle, and shake it, and shake until our hands fall off.’
A House is Not a Home - L. Chan A sentient house is now resident-less but continues as ever with its daily routine. It was surprisingly bittersweet. A house programmed a certain way, what can such a house even do of its own accord? Rather fun to contrast with There Will Come Soft Rains - Ray Bradbury in my opinion...!
Fuzhou Nighttime Feeling - Ling Ma. The descriptions of the city interwoven with the narrator’s thoughts on their family are gorgeous.. so atmospheric! Makes me want to pick up their novel Severance ASAP. Like - ‘Fuzhou is so hot and sensuous all year-round, the kind of place, my grandma says, that breeds indolence.’ - what a line!
The House of Asterion and Borges and I - Jorge Luis Borges (first tr. unknown, second tr. James E. Irby). Both very short & very thought provoking! Highly recommend reading The House of Asterion without any prior knowledge (and then rereading it multiple times..), it’s truly phenomenal. Phenomenal I say!
Attack Helicopter - Isabel Fall. A brilliantly razor sharp piece about gender and capitalism.
The Wind - Lauren Groff. This is very intense but it’s so heartbreakingly beautifully written. Major content warning for domestic violence and abuse.
A Serpent in the Gears - Margaret Ronald. A valet on an airship. Clockwork serpents. The CONCEPTS of it all are more compelling than the story initially would suggest.
Still Life With Vial of Blood - Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas. Footnotes? Tortured artists? Gruesome, and eerie, and short enough to not overdo it? Hell yeah!
The Third Bear - Jeff Vandermeer & The Sweetness of Honey and Rot - A. Merc Rustad. In both of these, there's a small village that you can’t escape from. In one, well there's a bear that's more than a bear that preys on those who venture into the forest.. in the other, it's the tree that preys on the villagers it has chosen and the village considers it an honour.. ritual sacrifices and slow despairing revenge my god…! (Body horror / gore content warning for both!)
Bride, Knife, Flaming Horse - M.L. Krishnan. Marriage websites and first dates but with both ‘[a] man that was a ghoul, but also a knife.’ and ‘[a] woman that was a deity, but also a mare.' This was a lovely refreshing piece actually, Kala is a fun protagonist!
Clay - Isabel J. Kim. The love between the Emmanuels makes this piece for me! Published in the same issue as Godmaker - J.A. Prentice, which I thought was an apt editorial choice.
Presque vue - Tochi Onyebuchi. A voice in your head.. The ending, stories about this theme oh man.. they will always get to me !!
Mother of Invention - Nnedi Okorafor. A pregnant woman is about to give birth trapped in an environment that is deadly to her. If you are in need of more sentient houses imagery and intriguing futuristic landscapes, then this is the one for you!
White Rose, Red Rose - Rachel Swirsky. Reminded me of This is How You Lose the Time War in some ways.. Maybe just one way actually but still.
Fish (in 13 sections) - Eric Ozawa. A guy explores the implications of being called a fish in a breakup. Ok, honestly the writing style was so delicious so fun. ‘A fish. She called me a fish. I have no idea what she meant.’
Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers - Alyssa Wong
The Story of the Avenger and the Archangel in the Palace of Sinners - Eduardo Galeano
Standard Loneliness Package - Charles Yu
The Night Dance - Leah Cypess. I am partial to a 12 Dancing Princesses retelling... Maybe it’s the fault of Kay Nielsen’s glorious art piece (below) or maybe it’s Barbie’s
Bonus favourites!
The title of this newsletter (Carrier Bag) is inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction so I have to mention it, even if it’s not a short story per se - it is short story length though!
Story of Your Life - Ted Chiang. THE short story that got me into short stories..
L'Espirit de L'Escalier - Catherynne M. Valente. Orpheus and Eurydice. Modern retelling where he brings her back. Why didn’t he turn? What if she’s alive but decaying?
The Haunting of 13 Olúwo Street - Suyi Davies Okungbowa. Is there anything more compelling than a haunted house that loves and protects… No? Exactly.
And that’s it from me!
I hope you find a new read to enjoy amongst these & I will hopefully see you in roughly a month for March’s list! A little taster for the substack readers who have read this far: I have just finished It’s Warm in Here and Books and Roses and well… You will see them feature next time!
Till then,
Y.
ahh i’m so glad i found this, i’m preparing to begin writing my own short story collection soon as i will have a lot more free time, and i’ve been looking for some great short story recs to inspire me :) i look forward to reading these and many more!!
severance is so so good!!!!!