scijessreads

Short story collections can be tricky to pull off. Do they all have the same theme? Are they all wildly different? Do they all share an idea, but take it in opposite directions? With Fifity Beasts to Break Your Heart, some of the stories were perfect glimpses into the creepy, the absurd, and the ache of the ugly parts of living. Others seemed to fall a little short of the mark.

Sundown at the Eternal Staircase reminded me of “Welcome to Nightvale” in its portrayal of weird events as a fact of life. A Diviner’s Abecedarian gave us hints of every high school horror movie. Thread Boy felt the most real, in how we give pieces of ourselves to others or leave them behind in places we have gone, and if we’re not careful, we can become so entangled in these webs that we lose ourselves. The War of Fog is every creeping gothic folk tale, where we know something is coming, but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is going to be. Drowning Lessons is a glimpse at how things we take for granted aren’t necessarily available for everyone to enjoy. These were the stories that resonated with me out of all of this collection. Some of the other stories may resonate with someone else.

If you are a fan of the surreal, open-ended stories, creeping unease, and harsh reflections on life, there is something here for you. Fifity Beasts to Break Your Heart has enough hidden in its pages to make this book worth picking up.

*I read this book as an ARC via NetGalley and the Publisher. All opinions are my own. Publication date is 2/6/24.