Little Paranoias: Stories by Sonora Taylor Book Review
Happy Halloween, reading friends! I hope you get to do something spooky today!
Dark Fiction | Goodreads | Amazon
Source: Received for Review Consideration
Little Paranoias Stories by Sonora Taylor
Released October 2019Dark Fiction | Goodreads | Amazon
Source: Received for Review Consideration
Is it a knock on the door, or a gust of wind? A trick of the light, or someone who’ll see what you’ve done?
“Little Paranoias: Stories” features twenty tales of the little things that drive our deepest fears. It tells the stories of terror and sorrow, lust at the end of the world and death as an unwanted second chance. It dives into the darkest corners of the minds of men, women, and children. It wanders into the forest and touches every corner of the capital. Everyone has something to fear — but after all, it’s those little paranoias that drive our day-to-day.
“Little Paranoias: Stories” features twenty tales of the little things that drive our deepest fears. It tells the stories of terror and sorrow, lust at the end of the world and death as an unwanted second chance. It dives into the darkest corners of the minds of men, women, and children. It wanders into the forest and touches every corner of the capital. Everyone has something to fear — but after all, it’s those little paranoias that drive our day-to-day.
My 2 Cents For Free!
I read and adored Sonora Taylor’s novel WITHOUT CONDITION earlier this year and will likely read whatever she decides to put out from here on out. She isn’t afraid to write about the darkness that lurks inside the heart of (some) women and she has a skill for setting a scene and building a mood as well as creating her characters in a way that totally works for me.
Little Paranoias is a collection of flash fiction, poetry and short stories. There are twenty of them and they are all moody and while I liked some better than others, none of them were duds. I’ll highlight my favorites so I don’t write another book length review like I did for this one because no one has time for that!
Weary Bones was my absolute favorite and will be the only story with a paragraph all its own. Five skeletal stars. It begins with grief, love, with hope, and with the need to extend life as long as possible but some things shouldn’t be messed with and a well-intentioned idea turns into a nightmare. Very few people want to deal with the consequences and the responsibility falls on those with an extreme sense of empathy. This is such a moving story. Go read it before I end up spoiling it!
Never Walk Alone and Always In My Ear are morbid little morsels filled with dark secrets! Cranberry is also intense and felt so painfully real. It’s about callous and clueless parents and the daily hurts they inflict on their offspring while they go about their lives having no idea how damaging words can hurt. This story will resonate with anyone who ever felt the stab of their parents words in their most tender of spots. There are stories about rage, bullies, narcissists and nature fighting back (go Mother Nature!) and one that will have me giving the side-eye to all of those Stick Figure People I see on mini-vans! There’s a little something for any horror fan here.
What holds them all together is a writhing darkness whether it is an external force or one more intimate. At any rate, each tale bleeds black and it will make any dark fiction fan very happy.
Little Paranoias is a collection of flash fiction, poetry and short stories. There are twenty of them and they are all moody and while I liked some better than others, none of them were duds. I’ll highlight my favorites so I don’t write another book length review like I did for this one because no one has time for that!
Weary Bones was my absolute favorite and will be the only story with a paragraph all its own. Five skeletal stars. It begins with grief, love, with hope, and with the need to extend life as long as possible but some things shouldn’t be messed with and a well-intentioned idea turns into a nightmare. Very few people want to deal with the consequences and the responsibility falls on those with an extreme sense of empathy. This is such a moving story. Go read it before I end up spoiling it!
Never Walk Alone and Always In My Ear are morbid little morsels filled with dark secrets! Cranberry is also intense and felt so painfully real. It’s about callous and clueless parents and the daily hurts they inflict on their offspring while they go about their lives having no idea how damaging words can hurt. This story will resonate with anyone who ever felt the stab of their parents words in their most tender of spots. There are stories about rage, bullies, narcissists and nature fighting back (go Mother Nature!) and one that will have me giving the side-eye to all of those Stick Figure People I see on mini-vans! There’s a little something for any horror fan here.
What holds them all together is a writhing darkness whether it is an external force or one more intimate. At any rate, each tale bleeds black and it will make any dark fiction fan very happy.
4 out of 5
You know I love collections and am always looking for some new ones. These sound right up my alley!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great one!
DeleteOooh! This sounds like something I need to pick up!
ReplyDeleteIt's an excellent collection. I think you'd really enjoy it, Erica.
DeleteThis would've came in handy last month. I wish I'd known about it.
ReplyDeleteAwww, I should've got my act together sooner. Grab a copy for next October. It has some great stories in it.
Delete