A. J. Bermudez

Toni Morrison said "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." -- A.J. Bermudez's new book beat me to it!

Stories No One Hopes Are About Them left me both vindicated and challenged: a view on the terminal politesse of the Anthropocene somehow working into a simultaneous frenzied spiral and cogent terminus.

I can't say much more for fear of spoilers (there are revelatory multitudes on every page), but I can reiterate what more intelligent, more well-read folks than I have said:

It is a dazzling, must-read debut from an author you'll for whom you'll want to save space on the shelf.

-- also, It's a must have for lovers of short fiction -- and especially those who are fans of journals like the Kenyon Review and VQR (RIP) Gertrude Press.… (altro)

Stories No One Hopes Are About Them by AJ Bermudez is a collection of short stories that should be savored and not rushed through. Characters and situations that demand your attention and your understanding.

I usually use collections, of either short stories or essays, as something handy to pick up when I don't have time to dive back into a longer work. The ideal book of this sort will allow me to read a story or essay then, when I go back to whatever I might be doing, it ferments in my mind, deepening my understanding or raising more questions. Bermudez has put together a collection that matches any I have read for a long time. Each story stayed with me for a while and a couple are with me still.

One thing that struck me about reading these stories was that I didn't feel like I was sprinting through a story that was written simply to get me to the end. I enjoy many stories of that kind, but these made me spend some time with the characters and their situations. Even the much shorter ones. And many had a little nod to the fact that what we just read was but a part of a longer story. Maybe what a character will tell as part of future therapy or what a character is going to miss hearing/learning as a result of dying.

I would certainly recommend this to readers of short stories but I would also recommend this to readers who might shy away from them. I think this collection can rekindle any dying appreciation for the form you might have.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (altro)