Stories - Edited by Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio

This anthology of short stories by acclaimed authors is not something to be read in one sitting, but rather something to be dipped in and out of. I've only read a few of the stories so far, and been delighted by all. As is the tradition in short story telling, each is a self-contained tale of the Other. From the twisted revenge in Neil Gaiman's The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains, to the curious twin bond in Joyce Carol Oates' Fossil-Figures, and the vampirism of Walter Mosley's Juvenal Nyx, and the meta-fictive twists in Michael Swanwick's Goblin Lake, to name but a few, each story explores an aspect of the weird, sometimes frightening Other that preoccupies humanity.
Of what I've read so far, it's all rather brilliant. But then asking world-renowned, prize winning, authors to write a short story was bound to turn up some corkers. It's currently a hardback, so it might be out of some readers price range, but I highly recommend borrowing a copy from your local library, or just waiting for it to be a paperback.

Short and sweet

This week's recommended reads are a few days late (apologies, I got distracted!) and are all short story collections. Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite writers and as well as several novels, films, graphic novels and other writings, he has written several collections of short stories, I picked FragileThings as it happened to be the one I'm re-reading right now. I also suggested one of Roald Dahl's deliciously dark collections for adults, Switch Bitch, and Emma Donaghue's fairytale retellings Kissing The Witch.
Short stories can be fun, dipping in and only requiring a little time in a busy day to stretch your imagination and take a moment to recharge. Short stories are often dark, creepy, a little strange. Some of them grow into full novels, others just stay a brief glimpse at a narrative that never gets to be fully realised. Not everyone likes short stories, generally I prefer nice tasty novels I can get lost in, but if they're well written short stories can be almost as satisfying.
Even if the short story isn't normally your cup of tea, give one of these collections a read or find another author who tickles your fancy and stop for a while and go somewhere else in your head!
Happy Reading!!