Books from the Week of January 20
This week’s short reads
Exciting news: I’m going to be submitting my Personal Anthology piece, 12 short stories (interpret that term however you like) with some description. It’s stressful already and I just started my list yesterday.
Another lovely surprise: I had someone submit a story for consideration! It wasn’t for me, but it’s so flattering that someone would consider that.
Anyway: five stories this week, all fiction. Four new (to me) authors plus blog fave Amy DeBellis. A couple of these are older and crossed my radar because of awards season.
White Trash by Emily Hampson
From the perspective of a housekeeper in a ritzy hotel, Hampson’s story has teeth:
Tonight, his hand clasps your elbow, wearing you like a purse. He likes it when you flaunt a skirt, likes to snake a finger up your pale thigh. Nibbling at your earlobe, he cocks an eye toward me. To him, everything is a performance. An audience to covet his shined shoes. Gold watch. Young lover.
Driving my Seven-Year Old Nephew to Visit His Mother at Rehab by Emily Rinkema
The title is almost as long as the story, but the story is an emotional sledgehammer. It’ll take you 3 minutes to read and all day to process.
Mercy by Amy DeBellis
This story from blog fave DeBellis was nominated for a Pushcart Prize – it’s about how we understand our loved ones and the world around us differently as we age. It’s got a surprise at the end, and Amy’s unique voice carries the story in a way that doesn’t feel like fiction at all.
The Possibility of Ghosts by Amorak Huey
A short ghost story about living with a teenager. I love the ending of this story. Here’s the start:
Eventually we did start to catch on he was a ghost. The lack of sleeping was a clue — he was up when we got up in the mornings, still up when we turned in.
“I mean, the staying up late seems normal,” my wife said to me one night in bed. “But getting up early is weird. Do you think something is wrong?”
I dismissed it. A phase. Like the year he wore fedoras.
The Family Gathers at a Meal by Andrea Cavedo
A short horror story and a blunt metaphor about motherhood and sacrifice. Reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode, or something Junji Ito would use as a starting point for a bonkers bit of manga.