123 pages of Flash from "And Other Poems", "Flash" (Chester), "Smokelong" etc.
The words in the titles give an idea of the variety - Snow, Mother Teresa, Landmines, Nonni, Utskjaering, etc. Stories are 2 lines to 4 pages long, set in various countries. There are loners, couples and extended families. There are wives regretting being married, gays of various ages who are in different stages of coming out. There's snow (the most common symbol), pets, fridges, old and young people. There are only a few "meta" pieces. "This Way Around" is nearly specular.
The first and final stories are connected -
- When the moon distances itself - The moon "misses our sense of wonder" and distances itself from Earth. We beg it not to go, and promise to change. We sing to it. Others say it should be nuked.
- No longer trust it - After a vote, just over half of the people vote to nuke the moon, to take back control of the tides. When it's blown up, fragments return to Earth, whence it came. In time, Earth will have a ring.
I like the first of these. The last is too close to a BrExit parable.
"Bonsai and Clyde" is fun. "Clyde is in love with his houseplant, Geraldine ... She refuses to have her picture taken because she doesn't want him flaunting her on Instagram like some trophy hashtag ... She says he only loves her because she hasn't died on him like the others ... I can't have flowers, she says ... When she was dying, his wife Geraldine had told him that he'd need to look after all the houseplants for her, that this would keep her memory alive"
Most of the pieces work for me. The few that don't I can imagine other people liking, though I think p.107-118 is a weak patch. On p.42 is "winch" supposed to be "wince"? On p.82 is "Bride" supposed to be "Bridie"?
Other reviews
- Laura Besley
- Judy Darley (One of my favourites is Costume)
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