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A review by lit_laugh_luv
A Guide to Being Born: Stories by Ramona Ausubel
5.0
[4.5 stars] Dare I say this is my favourite short story collection ever? While I don't think any short story collection could ever get a perfect rating from me (a couple will inevitably miss the mark), this is as close to perfect as it will get. All of these stories are tied together with a loose string that strikes the balance of making the collection feel cohesive without being too literal or repetitive in its messaging. The stories are classified within four sections: birth, gestation, conception & love and do a great job incorporating those broader themes.
The prose in this is very matter-of-fact and blunt which I appreciated amidst the very abstract and surrealist events of the stories. The majority of the stories are very weird - incorporating aspects of death, body horror, sexism, dark comedy, grief and autonomy in varying capacities.
While I rarely individually rate short stories in a collection, virtually all of these made a lasting impact on me in their endings and I can't help but briefly summarize some thoughts on each. I adored Safe Passage, Poppyseed, The Ages and Tributaries and cannot recommend them enough if you're only willing to read a chunk of this collection.
- Safe Passage : 5/5 stars. Beautiful reflections on our final days of life with stellar imagery and metaphors.
- Poppyseed: 5/5 stars. Probably my favourite short story I've ever read; this is told in alternating vignettes of two parents as they deal with the moral and ethical considerations of providing for their disabled daughter.
- Atria : 3/5 stars. I appreciated some of the themes in this (notably the final years of adolescence where you feel lost between childhood and adulthood), but it didn't fully resonate with me.
- Chest of Drawers : 4/5 stars. This is the start of the stories taking a more humorous and witty tone, which may not work for everyone. A husband develops drawers on his chest, and we see how his experiences parallel with his pregnant wife (and how little men consider how transformative pregnancy is on women's bodies).
- Welcome to Your Life & Congratulations : 4/5 stars. A family grieves their dead cat and hosts several ceremonies to honour both his life and death. Definitely the most deadpan delivery of all the stories, and I'm not sure I really "got" some aspects of this, but I liked it!
- Catch & Release : 3/5 stars. I didn't fully understand this one - there was a lot going on, and while it was ambitious, it didn't tie together for me by the conclusion.
- Saver : 4/5 stars. This one is weird because it's arguably the most profound story of the bunch (I adore the ending), yet also the most lighthearted and comedic in its delivery.
- Snow Remote : 4/5 stars. Another kooky one that centres on the void that death creates and how grief can manifest itself at the worst of times.
- The Ages : 5/5 stars. I will be thinking about this one for ages - it questions how unique our lives and experiences are, and focuses on how mundane the process of getting old and dying are. Takes a different approach to the concept of sonder than what I've read before.
- Magniloquence : 4/5 stars. This felt the most 'out of place' of the stories - it still focuses on grief and disillusionment but pivots to more of a focus on academia. While this will likely resonate with a more niche audience, I appreciated how this interrogates how we and why we pursue our ambitions.
- Tributaries : 5/5 stars. What would happen if our capacity to love manifests itself in a physical form? A stellar ending that re-visits the differing expectations between men and women when it comes to love, and the many different forms love can take on.
The prose in this is very matter-of-fact and blunt which I appreciated amidst the very abstract and surrealist events of the stories. The majority of the stories are very weird - incorporating aspects of death, body horror, sexism, dark comedy, grief and autonomy in varying capacities.
While I rarely individually rate short stories in a collection, virtually all of these made a lasting impact on me in their endings and I can't help but briefly summarize some thoughts on each. I adored Safe Passage, Poppyseed, The Ages and Tributaries and cannot recommend them enough if you're only willing to read a chunk of this collection.
- Safe Passage : 5/5 stars. Beautiful reflections on our final days of life with stellar imagery and metaphors.
- Poppyseed: 5/5 stars. Probably my favourite short story I've ever read; this is told in alternating vignettes of two parents as they deal with the moral and ethical considerations of providing for their disabled daughter.
- Atria : 3/5 stars. I appreciated some of the themes in this (notably the final years of adolescence where you feel lost between childhood and adulthood), but it didn't fully resonate with me.
- Chest of Drawers : 4/5 stars. This is the start of the stories taking a more humorous and witty tone, which may not work for everyone. A husband develops drawers on his chest, and we see how his experiences parallel with his pregnant wife (and how little men consider how transformative pregnancy is on women's bodies).
- Welcome to Your Life & Congratulations : 4/5 stars. A family grieves their dead cat and hosts several ceremonies to honour both his life and death. Definitely the most deadpan delivery of all the stories, and I'm not sure I really "got" some aspects of this, but I liked it!
- Catch & Release : 3/5 stars. I didn't fully understand this one - there was a lot going on, and while it was ambitious, it didn't tie together for me by the conclusion.
- Saver : 4/5 stars. This one is weird because it's arguably the most profound story of the bunch (I adore the ending), yet also the most lighthearted and comedic in its delivery.
- Snow Remote : 4/5 stars. Another kooky one that centres on the void that death creates and how grief can manifest itself at the worst of times.
- The Ages : 5/5 stars. I will be thinking about this one for ages - it questions how unique our lives and experiences are, and focuses on how mundane the process of getting old and dying are. Takes a different approach to the concept of sonder than what I've read before.
- Magniloquence : 4/5 stars. This felt the most 'out of place' of the stories - it still focuses on grief and disillusionment but pivots to more of a focus on academia. While this will likely resonate with a more niche audience, I appreciated how this interrogates how we and why we pursue our ambitions.
- Tributaries : 5/5 stars. What would happen if our capacity to love manifests itself in a physical form? A stellar ending that re-visits the differing expectations between men and women when it comes to love, and the many different forms love can take on.