 this is a complex collection of stories, feeling both personal and painful. There are times when so-called monsters get their chance to survive and thrive, and others for whom hope fizzles out or dies entirely, and by the end of the book you'll have gone through so many emotions it's hard to process them all. Hell Hath No Sorrow like a Woman Haunted by RJ Joseph Publisher : The Seventh Terrace (7 Aug. 2022) Language : English Paperback : 266 pages ISBN-10 : 1990082181 ISBN-13 : 978-1990082184 A Horror Book Review by Ben Walker RJ Joseph knows horror inside and out. Whether you've read her essays & fiction before, or heard her speak about the genre, it's evident that she's a lover of, and an expert in, all things scary – and the 24 stories collected in Hell Hath... prove this beyond any doubt. You might get the impression from the title of this book that the stories will all be about women who are somehow victimised, and there are plenty of moments where the predominantly Black cast are put through the ringer, emotionally and physically – with racism rearing its ugly head alongside body shaming, domestic abuse and other equally serious topics. But many of the women in these stories either refuse to be held back by such things, find a way to rise above them – or at the very least, turn things to their favour, no matter the cost. All throughout the collection, characters and scenes alike are given just the right amount of attention to detail: settings are presented so richly that you can feel the warmth – or lack of – in any place you find yourself in, and the character work is just as compelling, with heroes, anti-heroes, villains and victims all given room to breathe, even in the stories which run to just a handful of pages. What makes the majority of stories hit hardest though is the way in which you feel like you're being spoken to directly, not just because of the first person narratives Joseph appears to favour, but because of the masterful way she lays down every word, pulling you in at just the right pace to make you feel comfortable before the Band-Aid is ripped away to show you the fleshy bits underneath. And thanks to their subject matter, more than a few of these stories are pretty gruelling, not to mention emotionally devastating. As the stories go on, it's easy to recognise that the issues presented, whether through a supernatural or historical lens, are still happening to this day, which gives many of them an extra sense of unease. Even though reading these fictions gives you a sense of distance, that ability to say “well, it's just a story”, they're no less harrowing for it – and some of the stories read more like real-life accounts. Take Flesh of my Flesh, for example, which puts a mother in an unthinkable situation and leaves you reeling with the suggestion of what its last line could mean for her and her kids. On the flip side, there's I Will Only Love You Better After Death, which is firmly in the supernatural category, but takes you back to slave era America, with bittersweet moments of forbidden love interspersed with all-too-real descriptions of abuse at the hands of slave owners, and a tragic uprising into which seeps some weird body horror. Vitally, Joseph isn't afraid to take her stories to the darkest of places, and cover subjects some might shy away from, which means you're in for a thoroughly unsettling time. Better put, this is a complex collection of stories, feeling both personal and painful. There are times when so-called monsters get their chance to survive and thrive, and others for whom hope fizzles out or dies entirely, and by the end of the book you'll have gone through so many emotions it's hard to process them all. I know I say this a lot in the reviews of anthologies & collections I enjoy, but this isn't a book to rush through, it's one to take your time with, both to appreciate the masterful stories within, but also to give yourself some emotional breathing space, because you're going to be gut-punched over and over before the final page. Thoroughly compelling right from the first story to the last, this is a book that no serious horror fan should be without. Highly recommended. Hell Hath No Sorrow like a Woman Haunted by RJ Joseph  The Black women in these tales are women we all know. The mothers, wives, business owners, creatives, and more, that we see in everyday life. They perform the impossible and hold all ends together. Sometimes, they’re an open book, their stories written in the beloved lines of their faces and the varied bodies they wear with pride or weariness. Other times, their secrets squirm beneath the surface, aching for release and discovery while beckoning others to lean in. They whisper the horror of their predicaments, closer to home than you realize. These Black women are more than we know. They’re also victims, monsters…and often, a little of both. CHECK OUT TODAY'S OTHER ARTICLES BELOW
THE HEART OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITESComments are closed.
|
Archives
May 2023
|
RSS Feed
|
|