 Little Feasts is a short story/flash fiction collection by Jules Archer (already released so you can grab it right this second, if you like). I got three stories in before I made this note – “is everyone in this collection in some way unhinged?” And the answer, I discovered, is yes. If it’s not the protagonist (but it usually is), then at least one other character in every single story is in some way mentally deviant or deranged to some degree, in some capacity. What’s especially great about the book as a whole is that despite this common thread, the stories don’t get samey. I started to find it really fun to try and work out ahead of time what exactly was wrong with the character in question as I moved from story to story. It’s hard to write about the individual stories without ruining them, as they’re all “little feasts” of horror, as the title suggests. So here is my best attempt at summarising my thoughts on each one: In-N-Out Doesn’t Have Bacon Melancholy. Oh no. Almost expected to hear Audrey, from somewhere, scream ‘Feed me, Seymour!’ How To Love A Monster With Average-Sized Hands I guess a game of “catch” is out of the question. Hard To Carry And Fit In A Trunk One of my favourites. Warped… just… so warped. The Ice Cream Cone I used to like being the little spoon but I’ve changed my mind about everything to do with spoons now. Guerilla Drive-In Ew. The Lie Tree Apparently, there’s no such thing as a white lie. Prettier Things Another of my favourites. Crushes are so cute. Happiness, Lies, & Reno Rush Short but not sweet. Skillet The number one story in the collection for me. It’s so nice to learn passed-down recipes. We Will Set Anything On Fire Why? JUST WHY? Cyberspace Soup Just soup-er Anne Boleyn Could Drink You Under The Table Ah yes, true love. Cheap Tanya wtf Far Away From Everyone Hallelujah! Everlasting Full Another favourite. Don’t see what the problem is really. Totally relate to this character. Where are my snacks?! Backseat Blues Yet another favourite. Ouch, my heart! Garbage Girl Oh look, another favourite! Probably why some men are really afraid of periods… they know. My L.A. Jerry No. Contents Of A Letter Found On A Stained Bar Napkin Didn’t go where I expected. Still thinking about it. This collection has left my mind as warped as most of the stories themselves. Why you do dis Jules… why? Overall, I found some stories much stronger than others, but the great thing about collections like this is that when I came across a (rare) story that I didn’t like, I was on to the next before I knew it anyway. It’s a great little Halloween read that you can either dip in and out of whenever you feel like having your world ruined for a few minutes, or you can enjoy it and have your brain smashed to bits in one glorious sitting. I give it a 4 out of 5, and recommend giving it a go. Still haven’t worked out how to end a review so Bye. Review by K. M. Edwards  Following her successes from All the Ghosts We’ve Always Had, critically-acclaimed flash fiction writer, Jules Archer, returns to the dinner table with Little Feasts, her debut short story collection. The stories are a table-long buffet of femininity, a lying tree, childhood innocence, toxic masculinity, and a 20-pound cast-iron skillet. Works within have been featured in Five:2:One, SmokeLong Quarterly, Maudlin House, PANK, and more.   Comments are closed.
|
Archives
May 2023
|
RSS Feed
|
|