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A review by peeled_grape
Song for the Unraveling of the World by Brian Evenson
4.0
Mixed feelings about this collection. "The Tower," "Song for the Unraveling of the World" and "Shirts and Skins" probably round out my top three. "The Cardiacs" is really short, but I really liked that one. I think that Evenson's flash fiction is probably the most original and refreshing to read. This was also a great collection for me to read as a writer -- I've felt pressured to write something the length of Kelly Link's stories, but always find that a bit daunting, so it is cool to see a collection of 10-page stories. These stories also mix genre fiction in them, which I also like to see.
On the other hand: I feel like a lot of these stories rely on stereotypes and clichés. "Born Stillborn" has a character with mental illness who is violent because of it; "Trigger Warnings" would have been my favorite if it didn't imply that real trigger warnings are ridiculous and superabundant. (The FORM of "Trigger Warnings," though. And the humor. It was so close to being so great, and then he had to title it "Trigger Warnings.") Other times, it's like "ahh, a possession!" or "ahh, murderer!" and I feel like horror can be so much more creative than that, especially literary horror. "Sisters" ends with "and then we ate her for dinner!" which just felt cheap. We've done that before, let's try something new. I think that many of these stories were really excellent, but others fell into worn-out storylines.
On the other hand: I feel like a lot of these stories rely on stereotypes and clichés. "Born Stillborn" has a character with mental illness who is violent because of it; "Trigger Warnings" would have been my favorite if it didn't imply that real trigger warnings are ridiculous and superabundant. (The FORM of "Trigger Warnings," though. And the humor. It was so close to being so great, and then he had to title it "Trigger Warnings.") Other times, it's like "ahh, a possession!" or "ahh, murderer!" and I feel like horror can be so much more creative than that, especially literary horror. "Sisters" ends with "and then we ate her for dinner!" which just felt cheap. We've done that before, let's try something new. I think that many of these stories were really excellent, but others fell into worn-out storylines.