annieb123's Review of Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart

by GennaRose Nethercott

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • From the author of the breakout novel Thistlefoot: a collection of dark fairytales and fractured folklore exploring how our passions can save us—or go monstrously wrong.

“Real magic, real delight, doled out generously in the shape of wistful, ferocious, this-world-but-better stories.”—Kelly Link, author of White Cat, Black Dog

The stories in Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart are about the abomination that resides within us all. That churning, clawing, ravenous yearning: the hunger to be held, and seen, and known. And the terror, too: to be loved too well, or not enough, or for long enough. To be laid bare before your sweetheart, to their horror. To be recognized as the monstrous thing you are.

Two teenage girls working at a sinister roadside attraction called the Eternal Staircase explore its secrets—and their own doomed summer love. A zombie rooster plays detective in a missing persons case. A woman moves into a new house with her acclaimed artist boyfriend—and finds her body slowly shifting into something specially constructed to accommodate his needs and whims. A pack of middle schoolers turn to the occult to rid themselves of a hated new classmate. And a pair of outcasts, a vampire and a goat woman, find solace in each other, even as the world's lack of understanding might bring about its own end.

In these lush, strange, beautifully written stories, GennaRose Nethercott explores human longing in all its diamond-dark facets to create a collection that will redefine what you see as a beast, and make you beg to have your heart broken.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart is an interesting and varied collection of short fiction by GennaRose Nethercott. Due out 6th Feb 2024 from Knopf Doubleday on their Vintage imprint, it's 272 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

The stories are varied and across a range of subjects. The author has a very abstract style of writing and most of these selections are more vignettes than actual character or action driven stories with a discernable plot. They are weighted toward the fantastic and horror(ish) side, and there is a fairytale vibe to most of them.

There are 14 stories in all, and they vary in length. One of the best features of anthologies and collections is that they're often full of new-to-me authors for further reading. Another bonus is that short fiction is spare and technically challenging, so you get a better feel for an author's expertise with the form. Short fiction is less of a time commitment as well, so if one story is not working for you, there's another piece readily available in a few pages.

The author is undeniably talented and there are glimmers of the sublime in some of the word pictures. On the other hand, it's *not* particularly narrative. Fans used to a more stream-of-consciousness style of storytelling will find a lot to like here. Although it's not at all derivative, some of the more stunning passages recall Cat Rambo, Bruce Taylor (Mr. Magical Realism), or Ray Bradbury's more fanciful imagery.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

3 February, 2024: Started reading

3 February, 2024: Finished reading

3 February, 2024: Reviewed