All right, it is technically March. And it’s not because I forgot to hit post or anything… Honestly, it’s not. Well, maybe a little. Anyway, here they are, the February short story recommendations… in March.
I Met You on the Train by J.R. Dawson (Uncanny)
This is a familiar little tale about a person who rewinds time, reliving the same day over and over again to make things right and win the girl. It’s very sweet; it’s very Groundhog’s Day; until it suddenly isn’t.
As the story progresses, we start to get hints that something is not quite as it should be. I can’t really reveal any more than this, since the eeriness and the gradual reveal is what made the story interesting. But it is a quick read, so you just go check it out yourself.
If you something very short and/or are into gradual reveals and cool twists, this story might be something for you.
Always Be Returning by Eugenia Triantafyllou (The Sunday Morning Transport)
This story takes the familiar myth of Demeter and Persephone and somehow makes it new and fresh and original while still keeping the core of the original tale.
One really cool thing in the story is how the gods are given new aspects, and the clear borders are drawn between domains in a sort of nit-picky legalese way (for example, fish obviously belongs in Poseidon’s domain but only they are caught, at which point they are suddenly food and falls under Demeter).
There is some excellent prose here as well, a lot of unique descriptions all tied to the story world, to the Greek nature, and to the world of the gods.
Most impressive, though, is the way Triantafyllou manages to weave this piece of Greek mythology into a family drama that feels all to familiar. She turns this far out and epic tale into something much more grounded, a story about growing up and wanting independence from your parents, of falling out and making up, of adjusting to your parents growing old and no longer being their former selves.
If you love retellings of fairy tales/myth and gorgeous prose, this is the story for you.
Words that Wither, Words that Bloom by Jules Arbeaux (Uncanny)
This is a painful yet beautiful story about trying to earn the love of your parents, and about how we all too often, whether we intend to or not, end up walking in their footsteps.
The protagonist is the daughter of the land’s willow-touched leader, the most powerful mage around who can hear the voices of plants and animals and coax them into doing her bidding. And this powerful mage, well, she has little time to be a mother.
At the start of the story, the protagonist is only five years old, and already, her mother’s lack of attention is taking its toll. As time passes and the story progresses, it only gets worse, until our protagonist craves whatever tiny fraction of praise and affection people are willing to offer.
The lack of love shown by her own mother shapes the MC’s entire life, until the very point when she, too, becomes a mother. And you have to read on to see what happens then.
You should read this story if you love gut-punching family drama and want to read about the burdens of social inheritance.
Me an’ Street (an’ Vince) Chase a Comet by Christopher Degni (FFO)
All right, this is maybe not the story on the list with the most meat on it. The title pretty much gives the plot away, and the theme can be boiled down to something like “some people are just too stupid for their own good”. That said, this story was funny.
Due to a dare, the MC and his friends start chasing a prismatic comet, even though it’s as good as suicide, because, well… They’re teenagers and not especially bright ones at that. Naturally, stuff goes wrong, though that is seemingly just how life is to the MC.
Degni perfectly captures the voice of the not-too-smart teenager and maintains it throughout the story. Honestly, it’s worth reading just for the sake of the narrative voice, which is incredibly well written. But he also manages to convey teenagers’ sometime lacking sense of their own mortality and the consequences of their action to a degree that is almost painful.
This is a story worth reading if you just want something plain fun, enjoy a great “voice”, or you want a reminder that your kid might not be exceptionally stupid after all.
Toby Backman 