All tagged short stories

Beneath the Bonfire – Nickolas Butler

While the author primarily focuses on the experiences of straight white men, his narratives transcend the typical masculine tropes. With raw emotional honesty, he taps into the inner workings of the male psyche, examining the impact of toxic masculinity, friendship, fatherhood, trauma, loss, identity and nature on the common man. 

Cursed Bunny – Bora Chung

Overall, “Cursed Bunny” is a creative, yet uneven collection. While some stories are haunting and memorable, others feel stretched or underdeveloped. Fans of unconventional horror might find it worth the read, but for me, it was hit or miss.

The History of Sound: Stories – Ben Shattuck

Ben Shattuck has easily delivered a contender for my favorite read of 2024 by weaving together 12 richly drawn, interconnected narratives that span centuries. Masterfully blending elements of historical and contemporary fiction, romance and Americana, there is a little something for everyone in this Northeast-set collection.

Dearborn – Ghassan Zeineddine

Expectation: A “city as the sole connection” collection that reads more like a wannabe novel.

Reality: A sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreak collection about the new American experience that succeeds thanks to its subtlety. There are no bad apples in the bunch.

Anoka – Shane Hawk

Expectation: An anthology of loosely connected stories all set in the Halloween Capital of the World.

Reality: The setting isn’t leveraged as much as anticipated (although there are a few nice winks for locals) but Shane Hawk showed promise with this somewhat even horror collection.

Night Shift – Stephen King

Reading this collection was a damn delight and a nostalgic serotonin boost that transported me back to high school when I devoured my first classic King novels in mass market paperbacks.  As my mini-reviews show, this was a mostly solid top-to-bottom collection that got better as the stories progressed. It showcased King at the top of his game - observant, reflective, emotional and downright scary.


Just After Sunset – Stephen King

Expectation: A scattershot collection of stories from King’s uneven period of the mid-aughts.

Reality: A completely passable and often entertaining collection that bring forward some classic, and previously unpublished stories, and set the groundwork for some of his later works.