Short Story Long: #StackingTheStories!
Jul. 26th, 2019 09:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spindizzy posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ladybusinessThis month Friend of the Business and short fiction expert forestofglory has been hosting a short story reading challenge, Stacking The Stories! I'm taking part, and it's been pretty great for me – I've started cracking through some of the MYRIAD anthologies I've collected, and more of the novellas and novelettes for the Hugos! The thread of what I've been reading is here, and if you want to leave me and/or forestofglory recommendations, please feel free!
(Q: Susan, was this all a cunning ruse to get more people recommending short fiction?
A: I COULDN'T POSSIBLY SAY.)
1. The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander [Top]
The Only Harmless Great Thing combines the story of the Radium Girls (CW: industrial abuse and malpractice) with that of Topsy the Elephant (CW: animal abuse and death) into one alternate history built on elephants and humans using sign language to communicate with each other. There are three stories going on here; one is the stories that the elephants tell about their history, one is Kat in the present negotiating with elephants to warn future generations of uranium dumps, and one is Regan and Topsy in the past – one of the Radium Girls training the elephant that's going to replace her in the factory before she succumbs to cancer.
So yeah, it's BLEAK. There is no happy ending – there's not even necessarily a conclusive ending – and I'm warning you of that up front.
I was so confused by the story opening, but once I managed to get settled in, I could appreciate what the story was trying to do. The way the world-building is handled through the three strands of narrative is
well-done, especially the way that the social issues and mentality of the elephants is built up. (The Disney-fied movie version described ABSOLUTELY sounds like something that would happen, ew.) The mirroring of Regan trying to help Topsy in the past – finding someone who shares her anger – and Kat trying to help elephants in the present, despite the role both of them play in their pain and harm, is quite powerful, especially because both of their stories end in the same place. The way the characters in each part of the story draw strength from the characters preceding them worked too; The Only Harmless Great Things has a thread running through it about the importance of stories on individual and cultural level, and I appreciated that a lot.
The Only Harmless Great Thing is very well-written, and it's angry. I don't know that I'd read it again, but I definitely respect it for that.
[Caution warning: industrial abuse and malpractice, animal abuse, references to suicide. This review is based off an ARC I inherited.]
2. The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark [Top]
The Black God's Drums is another alternate history; in this case, one where Haiti and New Orleans become independent states, goddesses walk the land and airships travel the skies, and someone has created a weapon that has devastating effects on the entire world: the Black God's Drums. It's very good.
Creeper, the protagonist, is a fantastic narrator. Her voice comes across really well, as does her knowledge and love of New Orleans. (The spelling of the story reflects dialects, which I found effective and characterful rather than obtrusive, but I appreciate that it's something that will vary by reader.) The fact that her knowing and loving the city is an important part of the story and her character arc made me very happy! The relationship she has with the goddesses was great and full of excellent imagery and action, especially towards the end of the story.
Some parts of it were a little predictable or convenient, but the story moves at great speed and is a lot of fun so I didn't mind at all. I recommend it!
[Caution warnings: natural disasters, the Confederacy, dead parents, kidnapping]
3. Ashes to Ashes by Floris M. Kleijne [Top]
I didn't actually like this story, and I can't explain why without giving spoilers. It's a story about a woman who has just lost a child, whose culture uses the ashes of dead children in bricks for their buildings, and I didn't feel like it was for me. Part of it is that the emotions don't ring true at all – that's absolutely a mileage may vary problem – and part of it is that it feels... It feels like the Cold Equation problem, to be honest. It's set up to encourage the reader to be angry at a cruelty the author's responsible for, without any of the world building or weight that would give it the emotional resonance it's aiming for. Not my thing!
[Caution warning: death of a child]
4. The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado [Top]
I actually wrote about The Husband Stitch already, and my previous review still stands! It's an intensely frustrating and well-written story, that still takes my breath away with the husband's sheer entitlement. The protagonist gives him so much, and it's still not enough! The thing that I would add is that I really liked this analysis of The Husband Stitch and the way that it shows about believing and who gets to be believed.
5. Thick as Pea Soup by Christopher D. Leonard [Top]
I think Thick as Pea Soup is supposed to be based off the Princess and the Pea, but I'm honestly not sure. The princess in this case finds fellowship with a serving boy, but I'm still not sure what the story itself is supposed to be about. There's some good imagery, but as a story it doesn't work for me.
6. The Words In Frosting by Mary E. Lowd [Top]
I found the descriptions to be quite clunky, and I am absolutely side-eying the robots girlfriend (DO NOT MAKE A ROBOT BOYFRIEND), but the premise of Words In Frosting is right up my street! An alien who runs a bakery attempts to solve a robot's lovelife (... to sell cake), which is absolutely my kind of nonsense! The viewpoint character's quite mercenary approach to this problem was entertaining, I just found the execution of the story clunkier than I would like.
7. Women Making Bees in Public by Alexandra Erin [Top]
Women Making Bees in Public is excellent, and it gives a speculative fiction edge to an experience I'm pretty sure everyone who presents as female has had: existing in public somehow being an invitation
for men to barge into your space, sealioning you, enforcing their opinions on you as though you having your opinion is a personal affront... Oh boy did I have feelings. The protagonist has been aware of a woman who sits in a café making bees and releasing them, and finally plucks up the courage to speak to her – only to be constantly interrupted by men. I'll be honest, I don't understand the conversation about free will that the two women have throughout this story, but I did understand the character's frustration at the way that the men in the story keep interrupting them with no context but every bit of confidence. But it has women backing each other up! It has beautiful imagery involving bees! I am extremely invested in the two women finding a common ground through making bees! It might be the story I hand to people (cis men) to explain what's it's like trying to exist in public.
8. The Emperor's New Bird by Mary E. Lowd [Top]
The Emperor's New Bird is a science fiction riff on the story of the emperor and the nightingale, where both of the birds have been manufactured. It's not necessarily bad; it's a story with very little conflict, which honestly I can be in the mood for! My biggest issue is that I was very aware of the sentence structure and how the story was put together, which left me feeling like I'd been looking at the strings rather than the puppets.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado — I don't know how I keep forgetting how beautifully surreal Carmen Maria Machado's work is, but I did! But it means I get to rediscover that all over again, so I think I'm winning.
Reading goal: 98/200 (8 new this post) Prose: 39/100 (32/39 short fiction)
Nonfiction: 3/12
#ReadMyOwnDamnBooks: 35/100 (0 read this post)
#unofficialqueerafbookclub: 36/75 (1 new this post; The Husband Stitch)
forestofglory has been hosting a short story reading challenge, Stacking The Stories! I'm taking part, and it's been pretty great for me – I've started cracking through some of the MYRIAD anthologies I've collected, and more of the novellas and novelettes for the Hugos! The thread of what I've been reading is here, and if you want to leave me and/or forestofglory recommendations, please feel free!(Q: Susan, was this all a cunning ruse to get more people recommending short fiction?
A: I COULDN'T POSSIBLY SAY.)
- The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander [Jump]
- The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark [Jump]
- Ashes to Ashes by Floris M. Kleijne [Jump]
- The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado [Jump]
- Thick as Pea Soup by Christopher D. Leonard [Jump]
- The Words In Frosting by Mary E. Lowd [Jump]
- Women Making Bees in Public by Alexandra Erin [Jump]
- The Emperor's New Bird by Mary E. Lowd [Jump]
1. The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander [Top]
The Only Harmless Great Thing combines the story of the Radium Girls (CW: industrial abuse and malpractice) with that of Topsy the Elephant (CW: animal abuse and death) into one alternate history built on elephants and humans using sign language to communicate with each other. There are three stories going on here; one is the stories that the elephants tell about their history, one is Kat in the present negotiating with elephants to warn future generations of uranium dumps, and one is Regan and Topsy in the past – one of the Radium Girls training the elephant that's going to replace her in the factory before she succumbs to cancer.
So yeah, it's BLEAK. There is no happy ending – there's not even necessarily a conclusive ending – and I'm warning you of that up front.
I was so confused by the story opening, but once I managed to get settled in, I could appreciate what the story was trying to do. The way the world-building is handled through the three strands of narrative is
well-done, especially the way that the social issues and mentality of the elephants is built up. (The Disney-fied movie version described ABSOLUTELY sounds like something that would happen, ew.) The mirroring of Regan trying to help Topsy in the past – finding someone who shares her anger – and Kat trying to help elephants in the present, despite the role both of them play in their pain and harm, is quite powerful, especially because both of their stories end in the same place. The way the characters in each part of the story draw strength from the characters preceding them worked too; The Only Harmless Great Things has a thread running through it about the importance of stories on individual and cultural level, and I appreciated that a lot.
The Only Harmless Great Thing is very well-written, and it's angry. I don't know that I'd read it again, but I definitely respect it for that.
[Caution warning: industrial abuse and malpractice, animal abuse, references to suicide. This review is based off an ARC I inherited.]
2. The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark [Top]
The Black God's Drums is another alternate history; in this case, one where Haiti and New Orleans become independent states, goddesses walk the land and airships travel the skies, and someone has created a weapon that has devastating effects on the entire world: the Black God's Drums. It's very good.
Creeper, the protagonist, is a fantastic narrator. Her voice comes across really well, as does her knowledge and love of New Orleans. (The spelling of the story reflects dialects, which I found effective and characterful rather than obtrusive, but I appreciate that it's something that will vary by reader.) The fact that her knowing and loving the city is an important part of the story and her character arc made me very happy! The relationship she has with the goddesses was great and full of excellent imagery and action, especially towards the end of the story.
Some parts of it were a little predictable or convenient, but the story moves at great speed and is a lot of fun so I didn't mind at all. I recommend it!
[Caution warnings: natural disasters, the Confederacy, dead parents, kidnapping]
3. Ashes to Ashes by Floris M. Kleijne [Top]
I didn't actually like this story, and I can't explain why without giving spoilers. It's a story about a woman who has just lost a child, whose culture uses the ashes of dead children in bricks for their buildings, and I didn't feel like it was for me. Part of it is that the emotions don't ring true at all – that's absolutely a mileage may vary problem – and part of it is that it feels... It feels like the Cold Equation problem, to be honest. It's set up to encourage the reader to be angry at a cruelty the author's responsible for, without any of the world building or weight that would give it the emotional resonance it's aiming for. Not my thing!
[Caution warning: death of a child]
4. The Husband Stitch by Carmen Maria Machado [Top]
I actually wrote about The Husband Stitch already, and my previous review still stands! It's an intensely frustrating and well-written story, that still takes my breath away with the husband's sheer entitlement. The protagonist gives him so much, and it's still not enough! The thing that I would add is that I really liked this analysis of The Husband Stitch and the way that it shows about believing and who gets to be believed.
5. Thick as Pea Soup by Christopher D. Leonard [Top]
I think Thick as Pea Soup is supposed to be based off the Princess and the Pea, but I'm honestly not sure. The princess in this case finds fellowship with a serving boy, but I'm still not sure what the story itself is supposed to be about. There's some good imagery, but as a story it doesn't work for me.
6. The Words In Frosting by Mary E. Lowd [Top]
I found the descriptions to be quite clunky, and I am absolutely side-eying the robots girlfriend (DO NOT MAKE A ROBOT BOYFRIEND), but the premise of Words In Frosting is right up my street! An alien who runs a bakery attempts to solve a robot's lovelife (... to sell cake), which is absolutely my kind of nonsense! The viewpoint character's quite mercenary approach to this problem was entertaining, I just found the execution of the story clunkier than I would like.
7. Women Making Bees in Public by Alexandra Erin [Top]
Women Making Bees in Public is excellent, and it gives a speculative fiction edge to an experience I'm pretty sure everyone who presents as female has had: existing in public somehow being an invitation
for men to barge into your space, sealioning you, enforcing their opinions on you as though you having your opinion is a personal affront... Oh boy did I have feelings. The protagonist has been aware of a woman who sits in a café making bees and releasing them, and finally plucks up the courage to speak to her – only to be constantly interrupted by men. I'll be honest, I don't understand the conversation about free will that the two women have throughout this story, but I did understand the character's frustration at the way that the men in the story keep interrupting them with no context but every bit of confidence. But it has women backing each other up! It has beautiful imagery involving bees! I am extremely invested in the two women finding a common ground through making bees! It might be the story I hand to people (cis men) to explain what's it's like trying to exist in public.
8. The Emperor's New Bird by Mary E. Lowd [Top]
The Emperor's New Bird is a science fiction riff on the story of the emperor and the nightingale, where both of the birds have been manufactured. It's not necessarily bad; it's a story with very little conflict, which honestly I can be in the mood for! My biggest issue is that I was very aware of the sentence structure and how the story was put together, which left me feeling like I'd been looking at the strings rather than the puppets.
Currently Reading
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado — I don't know how I keep forgetting how beautifully surreal Carmen Maria Machado's work is, but I did! But it means I get to rediscover that all over again, so I think I'm winning.
Reading Goals
Reading goal: 98/200 (8 new this post) Prose: 39/100 (32/39 short fiction)
Nonfiction: 3/12
#ReadMyOwnDamnBooks: 35/100 (0 read this post)
#unofficialqueerafbookclub: 36/75 (1 new this post; The Husband Stitch)
