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Stories No One Hopes Are About Them
At once playfully dark and slyly hopeful, Stories No One Hopes Are about Them explores convergences of power, privilege, and place. Characters who are ni de aquí, ni de allá—neither from here nor there—straddle competing worlds, disrupt paradigms, and transition from objects of other people’s stories to active subjects and protagonists of their own. Narratives of humanity and environment entwine with nuanced themes of colonization, queerness, and evolution at the forefront. Big things happen in this collection. But it’s also a collection of small intimacies: misremembered names, chipped teeth, and private rituals; unexpected alliances and barely touched knees beneath uniform skirts; minutiae of the natural world; incidents that quietly, achingly, and delightfully transgress the familiar.
154 pages, Paperback
Published November 14, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
August 10, 2023
Unfortunately this short story collection fell flat for me. I think the stories were “interesting,” but to me they lacked a deeper heart and soul that would’ve fostered more connection with the characters. I felt that they stories tried hard to come across as unique and stylistically different instead of more richly exploring the characters’ emotions and motivations. Onto the next!
December 19, 2022
The author has a way of building knowledge, phrase by phrase, line by line, sentence by sentence, like bricks added in artful patterns onto a wall, that I think is exquisite.
September 8, 2022
Vindication. This word, harkening back to the legacy of Wollstonecraft, rings true through this collection of work by Bermudez. With deft precision of narrative and scintillating prose, her award winning short stories enter the ring with heavy weight themes (corporate exploitation of workers, societal systems of misogyny, the wonder of nature vs. the machinations of “progress”, just to name a few) and go bout after bout with a flurry of hard hitting blows.
Swiveling from realist to dystopian to gothic (yet another thread tying her work to the Wollstonecraft family line), Bermudez weaves a series of questions through a breathtaking variety of tales. Questions like:
What do we owe to each other?
What have we lost along the way?
What pathways lie past death?
How big of a plate will we need when we eat the rich?
A wonderful show of talent, passion, labor and skill, “Stories No One Hopes Are About Them” stands as a testament to work that’s been done and work that beckons us on. We look forward to more work from this author, work which will call us down the road, further up and further in.
Swiveling from realist to dystopian to gothic (yet another thread tying her work to the Wollstonecraft family line), Bermudez weaves a series of questions through a breathtaking variety of tales. Questions like:
What do we owe to each other?
What have we lost along the way?
What pathways lie past death?
How big of a plate will we need when we eat the rich?
A wonderful show of talent, passion, labor and skill, “Stories No One Hopes Are About Them” stands as a testament to work that’s been done and work that beckons us on. We look forward to more work from this author, work which will call us down the road, further up and further in.
November 16, 2022
I enjoyed most of these stories, they were sharp and clever, easily mirroring the title of the collection.
Bermudez's stories are sharp, witty, and speak to the nature of us as we are but hope we aren't. In these stories, we see reflected the myriad ways in which human beings are selfish, ignorant, ambitious, uncaring, oblivious, silent, captive, and needful. As I read through each story, it became almost an obsession to identify the 'culprit' to see who was existing solely for themselves, who was testing limits and boundaries, who was privileged because of race, who cloaked themselves in privilege through socio-economic opportunity and identity, who questioned the need to be selfish, to be jealous, to be resentful and self-absorbed, and who were the very ones to whom the title pointed, yet who do not wish to be identified thus.
I enjoyed these stories and even the very short ones left me with questions and observations: what would you do if you saw your most unattractive self reflected back through words or thought? Could you change? Must you change? and Are these flaws really so despicable? Am I not teachable?
Bermudez's stories are sharp, witty, and speak to the nature of us as we are but hope we aren't. In these stories, we see reflected the myriad ways in which human beings are selfish, ignorant, ambitious, uncaring, oblivious, silent, captive, and needful. As I read through each story, it became almost an obsession to identify the 'culprit' to see who was existing solely for themselves, who was testing limits and boundaries, who was privileged because of race, who cloaked themselves in privilege through socio-economic opportunity and identity, who questioned the need to be selfish, to be jealous, to be resentful and self-absorbed, and who were the very ones to whom the title pointed, yet who do not wish to be identified thus.
I enjoyed these stories and even the very short ones left me with questions and observations: what would you do if you saw your most unattractive self reflected back through words or thought? Could you change? Must you change? and Are these flaws really so despicable? Am I not teachable?
November 18, 2022
I am going to keep this nice and short (just like this collection!)...Hands down one of the best reads of the year! Each story stood on its own two feet thanks to Bermudez masterful combination of hilarious irreverence and cynical commentary. Well worth a read if you are even slightly disillusioned about…well, anything.
Thank you to NetGalley, A. J. Bermudez, and University of Iowa Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley, A. J. Bermudez, and University of Iowa Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
February 19, 2024
the thing I like about story collections is that if you get lost its fine because the story ends pretty quickly and you're all caught up for the next one. I did like the stories, some of them were gruesome and horror, all of them were fairly graphic in their own right. not sure I'd recommend to people but also I haven't really read that many short story collections....so am I a good critic? no.
January 11, 2023
These were some of the best short stories I've read. Some had unexpected twists or endings, some were very short (a page and a half to two pages), some were tragic, some were whimsical. Overall, I really enjoyed them.
September 25, 2022
This is such a unique collection of short stories! Dark and offbeat, each story offers not just a snippet in time, but a pivot or a turn, a place where something changed and the character moves forward. You get both a sense of conclusion and a wonder about what’s next. Such interesting writing, I particularly enjoyed “Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic” and “Octopus.” I often shy away from short stories, they often feel incomplete, but in this collection the stories are compelling and unexpected. A fantastic debut, I look forward to reading more from Bermudez. Thanks to NetGalley and University of Iowa Press for the advanced copy.
Want to read
March 8, 2024Very much liked the story "The Real India" in Pushcart 2024, skewering art and fake authenticity.
October 1, 2022
Slow short stories to start but the last few were really good. ‘The Train Speaks’ was particularly poignant, only three pages long. I also liked ‘Orphan Type’ of children in a printing workhouse, it was gripping and terrifying but ‘Totenhaus’ was probably my favourite - a story Edgar Allen Poe would have been proud of. #netgalley
September 14, 2022
Wow. This is a hidden gem if ever I found one in a collection of short stories. Excellent writing of excellent tales. I really look forward to Bermudez future work.
I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!
I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!
August 12, 2022
Stories No One Hopes Are About Them by AJ Bermudez is a collection of short stories that should be savored and not rushed through. Characters and situations that demand your attention and your understanding.
I usually use collections, of either short stories or essays, as something handy to pick up when I don't have time to dive back into a longer work. The ideal book of this sort will allow me to read a story or essay then, when I go back to whatever I might be doing, it ferments in my mind, deepening my understanding or raising more questions. Bermudez has put together a collection that matches any I have read for a long time. Each story stayed with me for a while and a couple are with me still.
One thing that struck me about reading these stories was that I didn't feel like I was sprinting through a story that was written simply to get me to the end. I enjoy many stories of that kind, but these made me spend some time with the characters and their situations. Even the much shorter ones. And many had a little nod to the fact that what we just read was but a part of a longer story. Maybe what a character will tell as part of future therapy or what a character is going to miss hearing/learning as a result of dying.
I would certainly recommend this to readers of short stories but I would also recommend this to readers who might shy away from them. I think this collection can rekindle any dying appreciation for the form you might have.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I usually use collections, of either short stories or essays, as something handy to pick up when I don't have time to dive back into a longer work. The ideal book of this sort will allow me to read a story or essay then, when I go back to whatever I might be doing, it ferments in my mind, deepening my understanding or raising more questions. Bermudez has put together a collection that matches any I have read for a long time. Each story stayed with me for a while and a couple are with me still.
One thing that struck me about reading these stories was that I didn't feel like I was sprinting through a story that was written simply to get me to the end. I enjoy many stories of that kind, but these made me spend some time with the characters and their situations. Even the much shorter ones. And many had a little nod to the fact that what we just read was but a part of a longer story. Maybe what a character will tell as part of future therapy or what a character is going to miss hearing/learning as a result of dying.
I would certainly recommend this to readers of short stories but I would also recommend this to readers who might shy away from them. I think this collection can rekindle any dying appreciation for the form you might have.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
August 16, 2022
Stories No One Hopes Are about Them is a collection of short stories, with various narratives that don't always show the best there is in humans or nature. After reading each story I did concur with the title of the book because of their darkness. They flowed in a way you would think it stories about just one person, author, A. J. Bermudez, did that brilliantly. Not only are they short stories, but the amount of detail that is expressed in the stories makes you feel like you entered an entirely different space, world, and environment.
August 12, 2022
Stories No One Hopes Are About Them is a thrilling collection. The sentences are fizzy, fast, bright, impeccable, and inventive. And thematically, so many of these stories feel really current, urgent. They're examining what it means to be proximate to money and power--the way these things can be dangerous and unhealthy, but also gorgeous. To travel, to be near glamorous people (even if those people are hollow at the core!) can lead at once to despair and elation. I love this tension in the writing--danger and beauty intermixed. And I love the writing. A stellar book!
November 13, 2022
I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Man, I'm bummed. I really wanted this to be something I loved. I want to sing the praises of an emerging Hispanic writer, I love short fiction, and I love it, even more, when it's got something to say. I will implore you to look up the premise of this short story collection, and if it sounds good to you, pick it up!! There is a lot of good here... so I'll start there. As I said, all the stories have something to say that goes beyond the story itself. I like that. I liked the diversity and the themes of hispanidad. The biggest problem I had with this was that I just didn't enjoy reading it. There was an element of "too much" to the writing style that put me off. I also didn't enjoy several of the stories' perspectives... often too on the nose. I would hope to see this author grow into their voice and explore a more nuanced way of communicating the themes they want to convey in the future.
Man, I'm bummed. I really wanted this to be something I loved. I want to sing the praises of an emerging Hispanic writer, I love short fiction, and I love it, even more, when it's got something to say. I will implore you to look up the premise of this short story collection, and if it sounds good to you, pick it up!! There is a lot of good here... so I'll start there. As I said, all the stories have something to say that goes beyond the story itself. I like that. I liked the diversity and the themes of hispanidad. The biggest problem I had with this was that I just didn't enjoy reading it. There was an element of "too much" to the writing style that put me off. I also didn't enjoy several of the stories' perspectives... often too on the nose. I would hope to see this author grow into their voice and explore a more nuanced way of communicating the themes they want to convey in the future.
February 24, 2023
Beautiful, artful prose. The clarity of voice is what stayed with me!
May 3, 2023
Loved the first half. The second half was micro-length short stories (sometimes 2-3 pages) and got kind of gory, which is not my style. ymmv
July 16, 2023
When it comes to writing a good short story, so much is riding on the ending—the final page, the final paragraph, the final scene, the final line. It needs to carry the extra weight of adding closure—or perhaps resolutely *not* providing closure. And it needs to linger with you. A. J. Bermudez’s “Stories No One Hopes Are About Them” offers a master class in that, with this collection of often dark, sometimes pensive, often incisive, and always well-written stories.
“The Real India” focuses on the queer Latina assistant of an affluent, entitled artist who wants to place one of her new sculptures at a hotspot in India. In “The Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic,” a cleaning woman—through less than legal means—gets herself on a luxurious trip to the Antarctic. To give a taste of a few others: “Octopus” centers on a woman who plays a princess in a theme park, “Casualty” on the victim of a drone strike,” “Bottle Girl” on a girl working bottle service at a club who has a striking scar, “All the Places You Will Never Be Again” on someone whose long-term partner is dying, “The Body Electric” on an opera singer who sings for those about to be executed by the state, and “The Train Speaks” on the person who does voiceovers for the train. “Orphan Type,” which starts 100 years ago at a printshop running on child labor and ends with the same newspaper years later ushering new interns, is an artful combination of horror and social commentary.
Bermudez has a remarkable way with descriptions --- capturing the ineffable -- emotions, thoughts, fears -- in ways that become remarkably familiar or bitingly sharp.
"It occurs to me, often, that I'm a traitor to the authors of books she hasn't read, the authors who couldn't afford the buy-in, the other artists whose work has nothing to do with her work but whose catalogs are referenced in her list of influences..."
"On its surface, this exclamation has the pastiche of a whim, but if you listen closely, you can hear the machinations. The impulse is spontaneous in the way that midcentury housewives would sometimes, suddenly, fully out of the blue, swallow dishwashing liquid instead of rose."
"I've nodded us into a shared fiction, a nonexistent border in a nonexistent landscape, patrolled by nonexistent armed guards, lush with the mirage of artistic triumph....This nod, I realize now, is something I've picked up from Lark: the nod of attentive, partial understanding, of trust in one's own confidence above all, of willing one's own rightness into existence, of sorting it out later."
"...Marta has been listening patiently as a scruff-jawed game-hunter-turned-environmental-activist recounts his old life with the alacrity of a born-again Satanist describing his conversion."
"That's the truth of it: if something is expensive enough, well-lit enough, established enough, and you're surrounded by people who are doing the same thing, it's almost impossible to think of it as a crime."
I was attracted to it by its title, and I was glad it lived up to it.
“The Real India” focuses on the queer Latina assistant of an affluent, entitled artist who wants to place one of her new sculptures at a hotspot in India. In “The Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic,” a cleaning woman—through less than legal means—gets herself on a luxurious trip to the Antarctic. To give a taste of a few others: “Octopus” centers on a woman who plays a princess in a theme park, “Casualty” on the victim of a drone strike,” “Bottle Girl” on a girl working bottle service at a club who has a striking scar, “All the Places You Will Never Be Again” on someone whose long-term partner is dying, “The Body Electric” on an opera singer who sings for those about to be executed by the state, and “The Train Speaks” on the person who does voiceovers for the train. “Orphan Type,” which starts 100 years ago at a printshop running on child labor and ends with the same newspaper years later ushering new interns, is an artful combination of horror and social commentary.
Bermudez has a remarkable way with descriptions --- capturing the ineffable -- emotions, thoughts, fears -- in ways that become remarkably familiar or bitingly sharp.
"It occurs to me, often, that I'm a traitor to the authors of books she hasn't read, the authors who couldn't afford the buy-in, the other artists whose work has nothing to do with her work but whose catalogs are referenced in her list of influences..."
"On its surface, this exclamation has the pastiche of a whim, but if you listen closely, you can hear the machinations. The impulse is spontaneous in the way that midcentury housewives would sometimes, suddenly, fully out of the blue, swallow dishwashing liquid instead of rose."
"I've nodded us into a shared fiction, a nonexistent border in a nonexistent landscape, patrolled by nonexistent armed guards, lush with the mirage of artistic triumph....This nod, I realize now, is something I've picked up from Lark: the nod of attentive, partial understanding, of trust in one's own confidence above all, of willing one's own rightness into existence, of sorting it out later."
"...Marta has been listening patiently as a scruff-jawed game-hunter-turned-environmental-activist recounts his old life with the alacrity of a born-again Satanist describing his conversion."
"That's the truth of it: if something is expensive enough, well-lit enough, established enough, and you're surrounded by people who are doing the same thing, it's almost impossible to think of it as a crime."
I was attracted to it by its title, and I was glad it lived up to it.
January 19, 2023
5I feel like with this collection I did keep really enjoying the way Bermudez ended stories, but I kept wanting more. I wish there was more of a balance of character or plot. The concepts overall were really intriguing, and some of the flash pieces were good, I just wanted more. The writing on a technical level was great.
The Real India 3/5 - Good ending, not a lot of character or plot.
Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic 3/5 - I wish I saw more of her before or after the trip.
Octopus 5/5 - I don't know why, but I was seriously invested in this one from start to finish.
Casualty 5/5
Bottle Girl 5/5 - What a great character! What beautifully done imagery!
Ori Dreams of a Tree 2/5
All the Places You Will Never Be Again 2/5 - Good concept, but I felt like this was lacking a bit.
Insertion 2/5 - Same thing as the last story. Really good idea, I just wanted more.
Cain vs. Cain 1/5 - What did I read?
The Body Electric 5/5 - The twist! This is probably my favorite in the collection! (It's that or Bottle Girl)
The Lady Will Pay for Everything 1/5 - I just didn't get this one.
Eating the Leaves 5/5
Mnemophobe 2/5. - I felt like this one could've been great.
Orphan Type 3/5 - This one made me feel dumb.
Lacquer 1/5
The Train Speaks 1/5 - ??
Picking the Wound 4/5 This character held me.
Totenhaus 5/5 - Lovely and creepy.
Retrospect 3/5 - This felt far too short.
Year of the Snake 4/5 - I loved! this! concept!
The Real India 3/5 - Good ending, not a lot of character or plot.
Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic 3/5 - I wish I saw more of her before or after the trip.
Octopus 5/5 - I don't know why, but I was seriously invested in this one from start to finish.
Casualty 5/5
Bottle Girl 5/5 - What a great character! What beautifully done imagery!
Ori Dreams of a Tree 2/5
All the Places You Will Never Be Again 2/5 - Good concept, but I felt like this was lacking a bit.
Insertion 2/5 - Same thing as the last story. Really good idea, I just wanted more.
Cain vs. Cain 1/5 - What did I read?
The Body Electric 5/5 - The twist! This is probably my favorite in the collection! (It's that or Bottle Girl)
The Lady Will Pay for Everything 1/5 - I just didn't get this one.
Eating the Leaves 5/5
Mnemophobe 2/5. - I felt like this one could've been great.
Orphan Type 3/5 - This one made me feel dumb.
Lacquer 1/5
The Train Speaks 1/5 - ??
Picking the Wound 4/5 This character held me.
Totenhaus 5/5 - Lovely and creepy.
Retrospect 3/5 - This felt far too short.
Year of the Snake 4/5 - I loved! this! concept!
March 5, 2023
Really dark and sardonic stories. The first two are scintillating. The first is about the assistant of an out of touch artist, who observes their travels in India with a jaded bent. The second is about a woman taking a tour of Antarctica and the amazing things she sees while she reflects on how she lied in order to get there.
Most of the rest of the content is way shorter, more like flash fiction, and while I'm not against that type of storytelling, it was just hard to sink my teeth in them after such perfect-length, fully rendered stories. Still, the writing is gorgeous and had so many wonderful turns of phrase.
"Nonetheless, I cash the checks, and this is the thing that Lark has always understood. To be paid for something is to consent to it. To endorse it, as it were." (3)
"Historically, Lark has chewed through assistants like gum. I've lasted the longest. This is evidence of strength, I've always thought, although plastic outlives oak. Fake things always last the longest." (18)
"There is something about the aloneness of [Antarctica], its expressionless indifference, the thought that if one died here she would become food for nothing, that bothers her, worse than the cold." (37)
"Helen looks back toward the door to the printing room, now just a faint rectangle of moonlight, like the sky above an open grave." (109)
Most of the rest of the content is way shorter, more like flash fiction, and while I'm not against that type of storytelling, it was just hard to sink my teeth in them after such perfect-length, fully rendered stories. Still, the writing is gorgeous and had so many wonderful turns of phrase.
"Nonetheless, I cash the checks, and this is the thing that Lark has always understood. To be paid for something is to consent to it. To endorse it, as it were." (3)
"Historically, Lark has chewed through assistants like gum. I've lasted the longest. This is evidence of strength, I've always thought, although plastic outlives oak. Fake things always last the longest." (18)
"There is something about the aloneness of [Antarctica], its expressionless indifference, the thought that if one died here she would become food for nothing, that bothers her, worse than the cold." (37)
"Helen looks back toward the door to the printing room, now just a faint rectangle of moonlight, like the sky above an open grave." (109)
September 7, 2023
For me, the most successful stories in this collection were the ones providing an outsider's glimpse at the absurdities of the ultrarich. "Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic" was a delight, as was "Real India." The satire and black humor in those was on point. At about the halfway point, though, I noticed the stories getting shorter and more fragmented. It was harder to see the thematic connection between them. Some of the stories landed with a thud ("She sings the body electric" had an almost laughably predictable conclusion). I also thought the language could be a little too over-the-top at times, using words I had to look up for their meanings (and I have a Ph.D. in English, okay?). It could give the effect of a writer trying a little too hard to be impressive. For example, she uses words like "vermiculite" and "nonpareils." Yeah, me neither. By the end, I was weary of reading about unhappy people doing odd things. But I did appreciate the artistry, even if it didn't always resonate with me.
November 7, 2023
I found my way to A.J. Bermudez through an essay I read of hers about bar girls. I don't have the book with me right now, so I forget the exact title of that story, but to me, it was a perfect story. I looked her up and saw she had this collection coming out so I bought it right away. (From an independant bookstore on N Larchmont in LA) Every story in this collection takes the reader on a kind of emotional and spiritual ride of sorts, from the mundane to the extreme and all places in between. To me Bermudez has an eye for detail and microdetails that serve as the backdrop to these push-pull stories of searching and re-defining who we are, where we come from, and ultimately, where we want to land. It's a brilliant collection.
February 15, 2023
An astounding debut.
Compelling isn't quite the right word for this compendium, because it surpasses that from line to line. Enthralling is more apt.
Bermendez is an enormously talented writer, one to watch, especially in the moments she plays with genre (Ink Monsters, Electric Chairs, and Venomous snakes feature as prominently as coy cannibals). Loving short fiction isn't a pre-requesite for this collection either -- it has the bends and turns one is more likely to see on a binge-able series or Hitchcock movie. It has something for the Nabokov fan and the Foster-Wallace fan; sharp, witty, and with a deep dissection of the weirdness and danger of humanity.
Compelling isn't quite the right word for this compendium, because it surpasses that from line to line. Enthralling is more apt.
Bermendez is an enormously talented writer, one to watch, especially in the moments she plays with genre (Ink Monsters, Electric Chairs, and Venomous snakes feature as prominently as coy cannibals). Loving short fiction isn't a pre-requesite for this collection either -- it has the bends and turns one is more likely to see on a binge-able series or Hitchcock movie. It has something for the Nabokov fan and the Foster-Wallace fan; sharp, witty, and with a deep dissection of the weirdness and danger of humanity.
December 23, 2022
This feels slightly strange as a collection, although it has been pieced together in a way that's clearly trying to make a flow out of ultimately quite disjunct stories. Some of them are pretty good, some of them are enjoyable or interesting enough, and some are utterly pointless. For the most part reading these is a perfectly good way to spend some time - especially if you enjoy darker content - but isn't going to change your life.
April 30, 2023
This is a delightful bundle of short fiction from A.J. Bermudez. Some of the entries are among the best writing I've read all year. The first piece in particular is wickedly funny, a critical look at a shallow mimicry of liberalism and a capitalism that enables it. The collection as a whole, though, is my least favorite type of story collection - a scattershot of pieces that don't necessarily relate or cohere. It sometimes has the feel of a chapbook, a sampling of work in various stages of completion. Nevertheless, when Bermudez is good she's very good. This was on the whole a thoroughly enjoyable read.
February 15, 2023
A beautiful compilation of short stories, each full of wondrous imagery.
My personal favorite is “Casualty”. Filled with a sense of melancholy and reverence it is a journey through our last moments.
I recommend this book to anyone looking to be transported to different moments of life's little details and human beauty. Absolutely a must for your shelf.
My personal favorite is “Casualty”. Filled with a sense of melancholy and reverence it is a journey through our last moments.
I recommend this book to anyone looking to be transported to different moments of life's little details and human beauty. Absolutely a must for your shelf.
February 15, 2023
This book is a must read! It is full of nuggets of sweetness, passion, nostalgia, nature, heartbreak, and humanity. I particularly love the story, "Ori Dreams of a Tree." It reminds me of falling in love with the magic of nature as a child and how far our curiosity can take us. The language and stories in this book are a gift!
May 7, 2023
I'm partial to this style of writing - far reaching metaphors, commas strung in a row when there should be periods, semicolons, or no words at all, liminal almost magical spaces.
Favorites in the collection: Retrospect, Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic, The Lady Will Pay For Everything, The Train Speaks
Least favorite: Orphan Type
Favorites in the collection: Retrospect, Obscure Trivia of the Antarctic, The Lady Will Pay For Everything, The Train Speaks
Least favorite: Orphan Type
May 30, 2023
I wasn't sure if I would be able to get into this book. The first story I found difficult in ways of vocabulary and ideas and abstract thoughts. Because the book was compiled of short stories, that made it easier for my mind to focus on each story snippet for the time being. The Antarctica story stands out because of it's absurdity partnered with truth.
February 20, 2024
The stories that clicked with me, which were primarily the longer ones, were excellent. Some of the shorter ones were left me scratching my head, however I want to give them another try. In both cases the writing is quite strong, and my only complaint is that sometimes the writing felt almost *too* clever. Still, overall I enjoyed this collection of stories.
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