Tag Archives: Novella

April 19, 2024 · 3:47 pm

Petrified Wood

Fictionella about woodcutting and ancient trees

Some years back I heard about a project inspired by a found rock board with missing rocks. When I first heard of the project, I bought one of the books. Later, visiting the Melbourne Art Book Fair, I was thrilled to meet the A Published Event team behind the project and to add another book to my collection.

Photo is of “Petrified Wood” by Therese Keogh. The paperback book is resting on the edge of a wizened, grey tree stump. The cover is white with an abstract red shape on it which is a silhouette of a piece of petrified wood.

“Petrified Wood” by Therese Keogh is a fictionella told in first person perspective by someone who is visiting a forest in Germany. The narrative sways back and forth between ruminations on a 7,000 year old piece of petrified wood and modern day woodcutting.

This is a thoughtful book that experiments with form in a way that each page almost seems like a free verse poem, interspersed with black and white, low-resolution images of fossilised wood. Cutting wood is interpreted as a skill, an art form and a way to examine archeological findings from millennia gone by. Keogh presents each page as a distinct thought but they are all clearly linked together in the same way as the very tree rings Keogh considers.

I think it’s important to note that this is not a short piece of fiction in the conventional sense. There isn’t a strong sense of narrative but rather a feeling, or a knowing. There is little in the way of characters or even a sense of time, and Keogh focuses instead on place and connection. I was curious to see that there was an absence of moral judgment on woodcutting and, more broadly, deforestation. Instead of being a destructive force on nature, Keogh explores woodcutting as a participation with nature.

An original and thought-provoking interpretation of petrified wood.

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March 10, 2024 · 1:59 pm

The Tangleroot Palace & other stories

Collection of fantasy short stories and a novella

This was a set book for my fantasy book club. I hadn’t heard of this author before so I was keen to dip my toes into her work.

Image is of “The Tangleroot Palace & other stories” by Marjorie Liu. The eBook cover is of a gnarled tree and roots with no leaves save on only two small twigs against a midnight blue background.

“The Tangleroot Palace & other stories” by Marjorie Liu is a collection of six speculative fiction short stories and a novella. Sympathy for the Bones examines the witch-apprentice dynamic and how much those who raise us own our futures. The Briar and the Rose is a reimagination of Sleeping Beauty. The Light and the Fury revisits colonialism in the Pacific with an alternative history. The Last Dignity of Man is a character study of Superman’s Lex Luthor. Where the Heart Lives draws inspiration from Irish folklore. After the Blood is a dystopian story about Amish vampires. Finally, the eponymous novella, Tangleroot Palace, is a take on the princess fairytale genre.

This is a well-written collection of stories that take on well-known themes and present them with a modern lens. Liu subverts the tropes of this genre through queer relationships, grey morality, feminist characters and alternative pasts and futures. Liu includes little author’s notes at the end of each story which help to contextualise them. My favourite was The Light and the Fury as it was the most original and had a really unique undersea setting.

Unfortunately, however, I just didn’t find any of the stories especially memorable, and even though I only read this book a couple of months ago, I was struggling to recall what they were about. Many of the stories are retellings; either of well-known stories like Sleeping Beauty and Superman, or of well-known fairy-tale archetypes like witches and princesses. I think because there isn’t much novelty in the stories, they blur a bit into the fantasy canon and fail to stand out.

A fun collection but one that apart from applying contemporary themes to familiar stories, doesn’t introduce anything groundbreaking.

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December 6, 2023 · 11:17 pm

The Lies of the Ajungo

Sahara-inspired fantasy parable about lies, greed and control

I received a copy of this eBook courtesy of the publisher.

Image is of “The Lies of the Ajungo” by Moses Ose Utomi. The eBook cover is of a bleak-looking city against a setting sun right side up at the top, and then at the bottom a figure in red robes standing on a desert upside down.

“The Lies of the Ajungo” by Moses Ose Utomi is a fantasy parable novella about a boy called Tutu who lives in the City of Lies. When children turn 13 years old, their tongues are cut out as a sign of fealty to the Ajungo Empire who provide the very limited amount of water available to the citizens of the City of Lies. Days before his thirteenth birthday, and with his mother slowly dying of thirst, Tutu sets out on a quest into the Forever Desert to find water for his mother and his home.

This was a brilliant debut novella with not a single word wasted. With a deceptively simple premise, Utomi creates a rich and heavy-hitting story about the insidiousness of corrupt societies and the real impact on the people who live in them. The fantastical elements of the story are subtle but effective, as is the world-building. Both Tutu and the story grow and grow until reaching the book’s devastating climax and it is impossible for your heart not to break as you and Tutu slowly realise the truth of the world.

One that will linger with you for ages, and I am really looking forward to reading more of Utomi’s work.

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October 16, 2023 · 12:46 pm

The Crane Husband

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher.

Image is of “The Crane Husband” by Kelly Barnhill. The eBook cover is a profile painting of a figure with a human face with bright red lips overlaid with the feathers, beak and leg of a bird against a black background.

“The Crane Husband” by Kelly Barnhill is a surreal, speculative fiction novella about a teenage girl who lives in the not-too-distant future with her widowed mother and little brother in the Midwestern United States. Her mother supports the family financially by weaving and selling elaborate tapestries, but the girl is the one who takes on the responsibility for the majority of the care of her brother, housework and household budgeting. One day, the mother brings home a lover who is a giant crane. At first, the girl assumes it will be another short-lived relationship but the crane stays and the girl must find a way to save her family.

This is a complex and unsettling retelling of “The Crane Wife“, a story from Japanese folklore, that weaves in themes of family violence, control, generational trauma in a lightly science fiction setting. I really liked the way Barnhill captured the narrator’s voice, a teenager who already forced to grow up faster than she should have been following the loss of her father, is faced with even more responsibility and loss of innocence when the crane arrives. There is a dark, brittle urgency about this book that makes it very readable and just enough ambiguity, especially about the true nature of the crane, to keep the reader guessing. I really liked how there was a real juxtaposition between isolation and intimacy, both for the family in the future they live in, but for the mother in her relationship with the crane.

A challenging and engrossing story with many layers.

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September 3, 2023 · 6:34 pm

Hex

Novella about the last hours of of a woman tried and convicted of witchcraft

Last year I had the pleasure of taking part in the Heroines: Writing Intensive & Bali Retreat, an online intensive writing course and writers’ retreat. It was a great program and one aspect of it was discussing a selection of texts, including this one.

Image is of “Hex” by Jenni Fagan. The eBook cover is blue with a black inked image of a crow and a flock of birds in formation in the distant background.

“Hex” by Jenni Fagan is a historical fiction novella about Geillis Duncan, a woman tried and convicted of witchcraft in sixteenth century Scotland. Sentenced to death, on her last night, Geillis is visited by a mysterious stranger called Iris who claims to be from the future.

This is an emotionally-driven story that revisits a historical event with a modern lens. Fagan uses the character of Iris to do this for us. Armed with a modern understanding of feminism and a desire to right the wrongs of the past, Iris casts in the injustice of Geillis’ arrest, torture, conviction and trial in sharp relief. She offers comfort and understanding, and sits with Geillis through the dark night. It is an interesting interpretation of Geillis, and contrasts dramatically with the more well-known depiction by Diana Gabaldon.

While I could very much see what Fagan was seeking to achieve with this story, I found the dialogue and the setting hard to settle into. Good historical fiction, for me, always has a strong sense of place. I want to be immersed in the story, to feel like I am really there. I appreciate that there are no rules when it comes to fiction, especially where the author uses speculative fiction elements to tell the story, but I found it hard to suspend my disbelief reading this book. It felt like I was reading someone’s imagination, rather than reading something that could have really happened.

A thought-provoking story infused with esotericism that I wished had been grounded in a little more history.

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August 17, 2023 · 11:45 pm

Black Dog

Graphic novel sequel to “American Gods”

One thing I love to do when I visit Canty’s Bookshop is to browse through their graphic novels because they often have some real treasures. This was a perfect example. It is one of the four books in a set of illustrated editions of the author’s “American Gods” series with really striking, stylised covers.

Photo is of “Black Dog” by Neil Gaiman illustrated by “Daniel Egnéus”. The hardcover book is resting on the body of a black dog with merle patterning and white markings. The cover is white with two abstract figures intertwined. One figure is black and red with breasts and two feline ears. The other is a light beige colour with a head like a black dog.

“Black Dog” by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus is a graphic novel adaptation of a novella sequel to the novel “American Gods”. Set after the events of “American Gods”, the protagonist Shadow finds himself in a small English village pub on a stormy night. He is invited to stay with a local couple who he warms to, but there is something sinister about the town and something very troubled about the couple.

This was a really tight, well-crafted story in a setting that Gaiman is completely at home in. The complexity and density of “American Gods” is completely pared back and what is left is dark British folkloric ambiance. I really liked how Gaiman picked up themes and threads from the the previous book but at the same time created something completely self-contained. Egnéus’ jagged, scratchy, silhouetted illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to this story and help capture the grim atmosphere.

A really enjoyable story and I am very keen to collect the others in this series now.

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February 20, 2022 · 10:08 pm

The Thirty-nine Steps

Classic wartime spy thriller novel

This was my last (and 90th) book of 2021, and also my final book in my Short Stack Reading Challenge. Given that this was another book I picked up from the Lifeline Book Fair, and given that this fantastic charity unfortunately had to cancel their event very recently, it is a great reminder that you can support them by donating directly or visiting their permanent shop at the Fyshwick Markets.

Image is of “The Thirty-nine Steps” by John Buchan. The paperback book is placed behind a pink tweed cap, sunglasses and a pocketwatch. The cover is of two men in an old fashioned automobile wearing hats, gloves and goggles driving through wild countryside.

“The Thirty-nine Steps” by John Buchan is a spy thriller novella about a man called Richard Hannay who finds himself accidentally embroiled in a matter of national security. A healthy and energetic man in his mid-30s, when Hannay returns to England after extensive time in Africa, he meets a nervous man in a neighbouring unit and agrees to help him. However, when he finds the man’s corpse in his flat shortly afterwards, he realises that not only is his own life in danger but the lives of the entire country.

This is a quirky, fast-paced novella with all the hallmarks of any over-the-top James Bond film. The book is jammed packed full of disguises, explosions, aeroplanes and general spy craft shenanigans. One of the quaint things about this book is that everyone Hannay comes across immediately jumps to his aid. The majority of the characters are young men who are desperate for a little slice of adventure, and open their homes to a wild stranger without a second thought. There was also a light dash of political commentary thrown in for good measure.

Like any spy novel, this one was sufficiently ridiculous and built on the premise that members of a particular nation are inherently nefarious. The story skipped from scene to scene without much direction or respite, and at times the sheer amount of action and constant stream of new characters did impact the readability and the investment I had in the story.

A quick, action-packed novella that surely inspired the genre.

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January 5, 2022 · 8:07 pm

Buxton Spice

Coming of age novella set in Guyana

Content warning: sexual assault, gender violence, family violence

I must have picked up a copy of this book from the Lifeline Book Fair some time back. I love to look at the different books in the literature section and see if I can find books from other countries, and this one clearly caught my eye because of the vibrant cover. I picked it out to read for my Short Stack Reading Challenge in December.

Image is of “Buxton Spice” by Oonya Kempadoo. The paperback book is balancing on a plum tree branch overhanging a brown corrugated fence. The branch has several reddish plums that are almost ripe and there is a large praying mantis next to them. The cover is of a very magnified yellow and red hibiscus flower.

“Buxton Spice” by Oonya Kempadoo is a bildungsroman about Lula, a young girl who lives in a fictional town called Tamarind Grove in Guyana. She and her friends play innocently among the trees, along the river and in the rooms in her family’s sprawling house. However, on the cusp of puberty they are becoming more aware of their sexuality and, at the same time, more aware of the political tensions in their racially diverse town and the types of violence women face in Tamarind Grove.

This was a very readable book and I loved how Kempadoo wove through Guyanese Creole in such a fluid and evocative way. Lula and her friends were a clever lens through with to observe Guyana’s post-independence era in the 1970s. As the book progresses, Lula becomes more and more aware of the ethnic differences between her family and others and Tamarind Grove and her father’s leftist leanings and progressive, vegetarian lifestyle become more and more dangerous. I also thought that Kempadoo explored class in a really interesting way and how it intersected with race and religion. There were some very provocative scenes in this book, and the author finds a captivating balance between illuminating violence and maintaining the Lula’s inherent playfulness.

A lively and spirited story that was as educational as it was enjoyable to read.

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January 3, 2022 · 12:07 am

Drowned Country

Queer fantasy novella about love and forgiveness

I was thrilled to launch my Short Stack Reading Challenge in December, and it was so successful I actually have quite a backlog of reviews. I was especially looking forward to this book which is a sequel to “Silver in the Wood” which I adored. Publication was a bit delayed because of COVID-19 but I ordered a copy as soon as I could. If you haven’t read the first book yet, please note there will be inadvertent spoilers.

Image is of “Drowned Country” by Emily Tesh. The paperback book is resting in front of a plant with long, thin leaves and another plant with a strange bulbous red stalk. The cover is of an island with a ruin on it, with the land extending into an olive green sea like a blade.

“Drowned Country” by Emily Tesh is a sequel to her novella “Silver in the Wood”. Some years have passed since the events of the previous book, and Henry Silver has sunk into a deep, grimy depression. His enthusiasm for an adventurous life as the Wild Man of Greenhollow has waned and he struggles to fill the days with the same careful routine that Tobias Finch did. When his mother calls on him to require his assistance dealing with a dangerous creature, Silver reluctantly agrees. However, when he reaches the coastal town of Rothport, he finds much more than he bargained for.

I was so happy to step back into Tesh’s world with these beloved characters. In this story, we get much more of Silver’s perspective and insight into some of the immaturity and indecision behind his signature charm and wit. There are some very funny moments in the book, and plenty of melodrama. The relationship between Silver and his mother is complicated and amusing. I also enjoyed Tesh’s exploration of relationships and working through guilt, trust and communication. Seeing Finch’s taciturn nature from the outside was frustrating but I finally had a bit more empathy for all the other characters.

I think that while I enjoyed revisiting this setting, the murkiness of the atmosphere spilled over a little into the plot. Tesh plays with parallel worlds and liminal spaces, stepping into another realm that was reminiscent of the dead city of Charn in “The Magician’s Nephew” by C. S. Lewis. However, I didn’t quite feel the same cohesiveness as I did in the first book. Tesh flickers the narrative back and forth in time to unveil what happened between Silver and Finch, but this time around I didn’t feel as invested. I love novellas but it was almost like the book needed a bit more exposition for the reader to understand how everything fit (or didn’t fit) together.

A fun, tangled book that I liked; just not as much as the first one.

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December 1, 2021 · 10:07 pm

An Irish Country Yuletide

A Christmas-themed novella from the Irish Country series

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. It has been a couple of years since I reviewed a Christmas-themed book, and I thought I would save this review for the first day of December and, incidentally, my inaugural Short Stack Reading Challenge. While I read this a little too early to count for my stack, this might be some festive inspiration for yours.

Image is of the eBook cover of “An Irish Country Yuletide” by Patrick Taylor. The cover looks like an oil painting of a window with holy and a candle in a warm foreground, and carol singers and a snowy village outside in cooler tones.

“An Irish Country Yuletide” by Patrick Taylor is a novella set in the “Irish Country” series about Dr Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly who has a general practice in the small Irish village of Ballybucklebo. Everyone in the village is getting ready for Christmas, and settling in to enjoy the traditions of the season. However, illnesses take no holidays, and between all the festivities, it is up to O’Reilly to make sure his patients and their families can celebrate as well.

This is an easy, cosy read that transports you to an idyllic Irish world in the mid-1960s. I had never read any of the other books in the series, but there was plenty of light exposition from Taylor to make sure any reader could slide into this book and quickly get up to speed. It is also an easy book from an emotional standpoint. Usually I don’t go for books that are overly saccharine but I think, during these difficult times, it is relaxing to read a book where things just work out, and no problem goes unsolved. O’Reilly is a sentimental old fellow, and between fulfilling his Christmas responsibilities, he takes the time to reflect on how far he has come with the people he loves. Then there was the huge bonus of Taylor including recipes! I have mentioned on here many, many times how much I love recipes in fiction. Unfortunately I didn’t get around to trying any out, but I very much appreciated that they were there.

Although perhaps all the loose ends are tied up a little too neatly in a bow, this book is nevertheless brimming with Christmas cheer and if you are looking to immerse yourself in a picturesque winter setting, then this is a lovely, low investment book to try.

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