Paula Ashe

In some ways, I feel this collection simply wasn't for me. I have friends who really enjoyed it, and there were a lot of moments where I could appreciate the ferocity of Ashe's imagery and story-telling, but in general, much of the work here put me off--to the extent that, at the end of the day, I feel like this collection just wasn't necessarily ready for publication.

The first third of the book presents loosely connected material which, while not always coming through in what I'd call finished stories, comes together to make something larger and more complete. Because of that, the early part of the book grew on me as it unfolded, and I was looking forward to seeing how the collection would continue in that vein. I thought perhaps I'd been in the wrong mindset to take in more of a collage or collection that built meaning from many parts becoming one, vs. a traditional collection. Unfortunately, the interconnectedness seemed to end there, with none of the later stories coming back to build on that early meaning and promise. As a result, that first third itself felt like something other and unfinished, and I still didn't know what to make of the larger collection.

The stories from that point on too often felt like scenes to me, vs completely developed stories, and so I remained fairly underwhelmed. Much as I could often appreciate the imagery, I often needed a bit more material/content for meaning to be clear, and the 'stories' were so light on character and plot that I didn't find myself emotionall invested or affected, even when I felt as if I should be.

By the time I got to the end of the book, I was annoyed to find that the final 'story' was more of a novella which only looked shorter because formatting was changed to make more words fit on a page than had been the case in earlier pieces. That was an odd choice, but since I'd planned to read it, I did. (Note that if it had been formatted like the rest of the book, it probably would have taken up the second half of a printed edition, in which case I don't think I would have pushed forward.) Here, there was more to dive into, but I was also left feeling as if I didn't have enough to fully understand plot and character at various points, as if the author were playing tricks with the reader instead of simply telling a story.

The author's final after-note does make me think that her goals as a writer of this collection where, very simply, at odds with what I come to a book hoping for. I often want darkness--I love horror, after all--but I also want fully developed stories, characters, and meaning, vs. scenes that feel more like snapshots in a larger horror, and that's where the collection fell short for me.

I will say that I thought the most successful piece in the collection (for me) was "Bereft"--if I'd read that one in an anthology or journal, it very well might have made me look up more of Ashe's work, which is something the other pieces wouldn't have accomplished.

And although I want it to be a side note vs. the heart of the review, I do have to mention that the lack of editing in this book was a serious distraction for me. Regular comma errors that interfered with meaning and/or disrupted flow, as well as typos and an absence of expected hyphens, made the book feel more like a proof/ARC than a polished work, to the extent that I'd probably not pick up another book from the 'press'.… (altro)