Review by shell_s - As Told by Things

A review by shell_s
As Told by Things by Debra Krauss, Stephanie Vance, Geoff Dutton, Tom Jolly, C. Flynt, Avily Jerome, T.J. Lockwood, John Darling, N.S. Evans, B.C. Kalis, Holly Schofield, Grace Keating, Alanna McFall, BethAnn Ferrero, E.D.E. Bell, Steve Carr, Jasre' Ellis, Robert Dawson, Z. Ahmad, Laura Johnson, Evan Dicken, Kella Campbell, Donnie Martino, Terry Sanville

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

AS TOLD BY THINGS is the delightful Atthis Arts flash fiction anthology that inspired me to own and read ALL the rest from this small press, and I’m working on it.

Every story entertained me and spoke to me and made me feel something—awed, amused, soothed, contemplative, wistful, anxious (very rarely, and they usually end well), surprised, and most often of all, empathetic. There’s such a wonderful cross-section of voices and characters too across ages, genders, races, and bodies.

I will celebrate all twenty-five tales the best way I know how—with puns.

Note: Sometimes the narrating object is mysterious and not identified till the end of its tale, so I’ll begin my impressions of those with the warning [SECRET OBJECT] in case you want to avoid hints.

I read editor E.D.E. Bell’s first, so I’ll start with her glorious two, and review the rest in actual order of appearance.

#25. “What I See” makes my eyes mist at the finale every time, wistful and wry musings by a deeply gracious bathroom mirror that looks forward to Comic Con cosplayers every year and imagines what it would reveal if it could speak.

#14. [SECRET OBJECT] “Tragedia” starts out momentous and flows into a chuckle-out-loud encounter where more than one ego deflates by the end.

#1. “Start Again” by Alanna McFall, told by bread starter, rises to the occasion beautifully with tender, bittersweet, wonder-filled observations on its evolving existence, including the ups and downs with the human couple it knows only as “Honey” and “Babe.”

#2. [SECRET OBJECT] “The Lady at the Bar” by B.C. Kalis deftly spills a thirsty tale of mutual desire between strangers longing for the sweet surrender of touching lips.

#3. “Ruby” by Terry Sanville narrated by a nostalgic, cheeky maroon Ford car about its beloved owners along for the ride of their lifetimes.

#4. “Growing as You’re Walking Past” by Donnie Martino is a mirror’s sympathetic, reflective tale of watching its reserved human grow from fraught childhood into confidence and freedom as a transgender new adult.

#5. “Imago Mundi” by Evan Dicken features a map covering vast, somber territory in expanding drafts and developing history, and delivering profound truths about how, in spite of humans and their maps, the land knows no boundaries.

#6. “Elevated” by Tom Jolly told by a wisecracking elevator that meddles in the lives of the tenement building’s tenants is sheer uplifting fun.

#7. “Stewardship” by Holly Schofield stars a comically literal and precise maintenance program of ruthlessly calculating efficiency faced with a human intruder in the wildlife preserve that its bots patrol.

#8. “Fast Glass” by T.J. Lockwood offers snapshots of a day in the life of a prickly yet poetic 35mm camera dutifully serving to capture memories after being passed from father to talented daughter.

#9. “Anything Nice” by Steve Carr amuses with the pithy observations of a haughty porcelain lady figurine with fittingly rigid opinions on everything from her fellow curios to her owner’s rambunctious pair of sons.

#10. [SECRET OBJECT] The passionate narrator of “Love Letter” by Avily Jerome has it rough, getting used and abandoned—this melancholy entry scratches the surface of human self-absorption and ingratitude and wastefulness.

#11. “Petit Mal” by Geoff Dutton is a tense tale by a library computer’s snarky, persnickety program trying to signal to its “doofus” operator that he’s been hacked before it’s too late to save.

#12. “Paris Mug” by Debra Krauss serves up a dignified souvenir mug’s pleasant but unfulfilled years as a musician’s displayed curio—will it never know the warmth of liquid and soft lips?

#13. “The Malkin and Thel Tarot Catalogue,” clever and macabre and surreal, improves on multiple readings, when you realize these advertised tarot cards won’t stand for having their fates determined by mere humans anymore.

#15. “A Day in the Life of a Gigolo” by N.S. Evans, by a feisty slot machine who knows it’s got game, drops hot gossip on its most and least worthy patrons, and on the humorless men in suits trying to keep everyone in line.

#16. In the idyllic “Flowers at the Pond” by Grace Keating a bookish bronze memorial statue of a literacy advocate and local hero fondly muses about past chapters in her human life and her sequel as a statue in whom some visitors confide.

#17. [SECRET OBJECT] In “B.H.S.” by BethAnn Ferrero sly wordplay from a pompous and ominous narrator warn of its dark hunger and growing reach, until the inescapable final reveal.

#18. In “The Pea and the Princess” by Stephanie Vance, the sassy pea that tested one fairy tale princess’ bona fides will either thwart the snooty queen’s scheme to test a resourceful newcomer, or see its ambitions squashed.

#19. “Tuff” by the duo of C. Flynt evokes profound wonder at the natural world through the rocky evolution of the ancient earth itself from volcano to mountain to split stone to dust to however it may rise again.

#20. “Playful Protector” by Jasre’ Ellis tugs at your funny bone and heart with a vivacious scarf that loves securing her small human’s lovely 3b or 4c hair but also enjoys pranking her—till one joke too many might make it all unravel.

#21. “Twenty Sides to Every Tale” by Laura Johnson shows it’s great having other plucky dice at your side, but not all fun and games when gamers get rude—can one d20 change her fate or must she roll with it?

#22. “Violet Sparkle” by Kella Campbell brings giddy tail-wagging bliss with a proudly purple and glittery rubber bone and her canine bestie Brutus, until the arrival of a new ball makes her worry their friendship won’t rebound.

#23. John Darling’s “Peter the Paper Clip” is a bright, happy-go-lucky narrator that knows not to get too attached and makes new friends wherever he goes—even when a trip to the recycling plant gets him bound on a final adventure that’s so bizarre it’s out of this world.

#24. “Cashmere” by Z. Ahmad weaves the poignant, full circle tale of a queenly green hand-stitched scarf and the lives she’s privileged to observe draped on the shoulders of Esther and wrapped as the hijab of Huma, two strong, outspoken, and independent dreamers.

WHEN A SHORT STORY COLLECTION REALLY MAKES THE YOU SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY, SPEAK UP—BOOST THE SIGNAL!