A review by dylan2219
Collisions: Fictions Of The Future by Leah Jing McIntosh, Hassan Abul, Adalya Nash Hussein, Cher Tan

inspiring

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Being an anthology, this is a bit of a mixed bag, so difficult to review fairly. I don't want to dwell on those I didn't like that much because, frankly, I'm more grateful that these writers finally have a platform to publish work and get recognition, and a lot of those published here are very new or emerging, so it would be unfair to expect the same as I would from a novel or short story collection. The main problem was just an overuse of signposting and referencing for me, a lack of clear editing. But this is more a fault, I think, of the prize anthology format. Every writer in this collection is doing great work and is capable of it, though, and I'm grateful to Liminal to getting this out there. That being said, there are some real bangers in here - none the least Leah Jing McIntosh's brilliant manifesto/introductory essay - all in all a great selection of Aus writers of colour to keep an eye out for, and particularly those experimenting with language, form, and genre in really interesting ways. My favourites had a sense of cultural hybridity and syncretism, a genuinely post- and anti-colonial attempt at thinking about "Australian" writing. Was intrigued by the fact that most of the stories here have some magical realist/speculative/or otherwise surrealist qualities, others are kind of suburban comedy-dramas. A surprising lack of landscape/wilderness writing as well - a well-known Aus trope - which I can't help but feel is a pointed attempt to forge new traditions.
My highlights (in textual order):
Bad Weather - Bryant Apolonio
Auburn Heights - Naima Ibrahim
Tongue - Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
Suburban Graveyard - Victor Chrisnaa Senthinahan
Terranorra - Mykaela Saunders