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My Hearts Are Your Hearts (Carmel Bird, Spineless Wonders)

The inscrutable nature of the human heart binds Carmel Bird’s latest collection of short stories. The first in Spineless Wonders’ new series combining short fiction with author commentary, Bird’s tales have a fairytale-like quality in their playful yet incisive take on the uncomfortable truths of everyday life. From contemporary marriage breakdowns to long-buried love affairs to the haunting consequences of loss, all 20 stories explore the quirks of human nature in the darkly poetic style characteristic of Bird’s writing. Her finely observed descriptions of the minutia of love, death and life will both shock and amuse readers interested in re-examining the seductive promise of a happy ending. The prose is deceptively easy to read, with matter-of-fact narrators providing the unvarnished truth of their inner lives—truths that have a habit of returning to your thoughts long after the story is finished. The lively critical essay, a conversational reflection on the stories behind the stories, complements the imaginative breadth of the collection. This is a rewarding read for fans of short fiction.

Bronwyn Reddan is an academic and data assistant for the 2014 Stella Count

 

Category: Reviews