novella

Book Review: ‘When I Sing, Mountains Dance’ by Irene Solà

7th Jan 20247th Jan 20241 Comment

Irene Solà’s ‘When I Sing, Mountains Dance’ is my first read for this new year!

The book is a relatively lean novel, under 200 pages. It blends poetry into traditional storytelling to make something unique. I’ve never read anything quite like it.

The story opens with a man being struck dead by lightning. From there, we branch off to explore the lives of other family members and friends he has left behind. The story spans several decades, weaving a multilayered vision of small-town life in a mountain community. We even get some unusual points of view, such as from the clouds, mushrooms, and even a dog.

The small glimpses of each life are powerful, moving, and profound. We bounced around from chapter to chapter, and it was always fun trying to puzzle out from whose perspective we were reading now. The book’s short length made this head-hopping enjoyable. As it stands, Solà hit the perfect length with ‘When I Sing, Mountains Dance’. It’s quite an experimental little book that takes no time to read.

If you fancy something entirely new, give ‘When I Sing, Mountains Dance’ a go; you won’t read anything else quite like it any time soon.

Book Review: ‘Sour Candy’ by Kealan Patrick Burke

21st Dec 2023Leave a comment

Kealan Patrick Burke’s ‘Sour Candy’ is the penultimate book on my 2023 reading list.

After devouring Hill’s gargantuan ‘NOS4A2’, I wanted something short and sharp. Burke’s novella fit the bill; others in horror book groups had recommended it all year.

The story follows a divorced, child-free man in a relationship with his girlfriend. One chance encounter in a supermarket and things soon go awry. The man finds himself in charge of a young child, who everyone insists is his son. This universal gaslighting terrified me, and Burke uses it to good effect. And it turns out that there is more to this child than screaming fits and a taste for strange candy brands.

‘Sour Candy’ uses its short length and does not overstay its welcome. Burke packs a lot into these eighty-or-so pages. A lot of it made me uncomfortable and squeamish. You’ll ask yourself throughout the book: can he get out of this alive?

Burke’s ‘Sour Candy’ works well if you need a quick, powerful slice of horror.

Book Review: ‘Horrorstör’ by Grady Hendrix

19th Nov 2023Leave a comment

Grady Hendrix’s ‘Horrorstör’ is book thirty-nine of 2023.

I’ve read one book from Hendrix before, and I loved it—’My Best Friend’s Exorcism’. ‘Horrorstör’ is more of a novella than a novel, coming in at under 200 pages. The short length means that this book was perfect, as the previous book I read was a 700+ page mammoth.

‘Horrorstör’ follows Amy, a poor, down-on-her-luck employee of Orsk. Orsk is Ikea, but Hendrix has changed the name to avoid a lawsuit. It’s a massive store with many departments, each designed to look like a section of a house. We all know how Ikea works. Well, it turns out that things are going bump in the night, and Amy’s boss, Basil, is set on finding an explanation. It’s a haunted house story set in a furniture store—a pretty cool idea.

Overall, I liked ‘Horrorstör’, but I didn’t love it. The premise is better than the execution. It doesn’t mean it’s terrible. It’s fun; the pages breeze by. There are a few fun pokes at capitalism and corporate culture. It didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does the job fine. The shorter length is a plus because it’s a fun little fling.

I’d read more from Hendrix in the future, but I hope they are more like ‘My Best Friend’s Exorcism’.