Oh woe.. this was meant to be my ‘Summer Short Stories’ September edition for the satisfying sibilance factor but unfortunately life… happened. Better late than never, I suppose!
AND it’s October now, an excellent opportunity to rebrand it as the Spooky Short Stories I read during the Summer. It’s not all horror, so somewhat false advertising, but there is SOME horror in here! But then again, isn’t there always? Enjoy!
(Listed in the order I read them. List with just links at the end!)
St. Dymphna’s School For Poison Girls - Angela Slatter. Girl goes to a boarding school where you learn how to kill people, but she’s #not-like-the-other-girls.
Horror Story and Help Me Follow My Sister into the Land of the Dead - Carmen Maria Machado. Two short stories by this author this month! The Husband Stitch was one of the first short stories I really enjoyed so this foray back into her short story bibliography was somewhat overdue and a good time. (Also, authors who have a short story links page? The Best)
Component Parts of a Belated Apology - AnaMaria Curtis. Family relationships and forgiveness but with a gruesome twist.
Nobody Ever Goes Home to Zhenzhu - Grace Chan. A scifi story underpinned by the theme of history and the violence of erasure.
Dead Air - Nino Cipri. A series of audio recording transcripts as a woman interviews everyone she sleeps with and falls in love with a woman from a strange town. Turn it up for one of my favourite themes ‘you can never leave home it will pursue you!’ !!! (which is all The City by C.P. Cavafy’s fault, a poem I have not been okay about ever since reading it. The city will always pursue you…)
Mollusk, Membrane, Human Heart - Anne Valente. A guy tries to save the octopuses (sorry I will never be an octopi speller) from the unethical scientific research lab he’s working in. Rather depressing and melancholy like my immediate reading journal entry for this after finishing at the time is literally just: ‘Yeah…. yeah’
White Bird - Shuang Xuetao translated by Kevin Wang. A series of short 7 vignettes, that are linked by this sense of quiet absurdity that makes for a delightful little read.
A Hotel Room of One’s Own - Yah Yah Scholfield. This one evoked an atmosphere similar to The Sundial and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, but more immediately suffocating.. a condensed rendition of sorts. Which if you know of my adoration of those two books, you will understand is the highest compliment I can give for a short story to capture that same intensity. Houses that haunt and echo their inhabitants, childhood memories and isolation, etc… this short story is simply excellent.
In Mercy, Rain - Seanan McGuire. Jack and Jill but make it a weird fantasy land with mad scientist apprentices and vampires lurking in the distance. After reading the comments, I do feel like I would have appreciated this one a lot more if I was familiar with the series it’s part of! However, it is a nice fantasy story in its own right - and it takes a certain skill of world building for a fantasy story to be understandable to someone totally unfamiliar with the premise to the point that they don’t even realise it’s not a standalone!
And here’s the full list for ease of perusal!
St. Dymphna’s School For Poison Girls - Angela Slatter
Horror Story - Carmen Maria Machado
Help Me Follow My Sister into the Land of the Dead - Carmen Maria Machado
Component Parts of a Belated Apology - AnaMaria Curtis
Nobody Ever Goes Home to Zhenzhu - Grace Chan
Dead Air - Nino Cipri
Mollusk, Membrane, Human Heart - Anne Valente
White Bird - Shuang Xuetao translated by Kevin Wang
A Hotel Room of One’s Own - Yah Yah Scholfield
In Mercy, Rain - Seanan McGuire
Till next time! And yes, I’ve decided - Monthly recs are out, Seasonal recs are IN
Y.