Stories! Complex relationships

[sonia]

Some stories from mrissa's 2023 Q1 list of short stories.

A Princess With a Nose Three Ells Long by Malda Marlys. Delightful! Content note for a neglectful/abusive mother off-screen. The adult daughter is doing just fine.

Perhaps in Understanding by Anamaria Curtis. Also delightful! The writing is full of sensory details and it's about navigating a world of complex relationships and discerning inner truths.

Our Grandmother's Words by M.H. Ayinde. Content note for death and colonialism. Linked because it is a beautifully told story that does not make light of the deaths and losses caused by colonialism. It celebrates resistance.

This last one is not at all the sort of thing I usually link to. Or finish reading! But somehow it pulled me all the way through, and it has certainly stayed with me. Content notes for body horror and death. And complex mother and sister relationships.

With stories that shriek so loudly of violence, I always wonder if there's a quieter way to make the underlying point, or if the violence is the whole point. I sense there's more substance here, but I'm not sure what the message is or if I agree with it. Also when I stepped back from the story it seemed like there was definitely a message about race and racism, and again I'm not sure what it is or if I agree with it. Discreet Services Offered for Women Ridden by Hags by Stephanie Malia Morris.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

*makes notes of these stories*

With stories that shriek so loudly of violence, I always wonder if there's a quieter way to make the underlying point, or if the violence is the whole point.
*contempltates* Yeah, I have thought this about violent stories. Some are about depicting, reifiying the violence, while others have authors who just didn't know any other way to tell the story.

[sonia]

I've seen a lot of stories where the violence is just there to make things feel Important. Or maybe the author takes violence for granted. I just move along to the next story.