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A review by oddfigg
False Bingo: Stories by Jac Jemc
4.0
Jemc is solidified in my mind as one of the strange and unusual, and I’m always looking out for the authors willing to take a risk on something entirely different. Her take on a haunted house story with [b:The Grip of It|31574739|The Grip of It|Jac Jemc|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497915798l/31574739._SY75_.jpg|52264815] is definitely worth a read for the sheer uniqueness and creepiness of the places it goes, even though I felt that overall it wasn’t as successful a story as I wanted it to be.
With this short story collection, Jemc proves she has a lot more up her sleeve. While I wouldn’t call this collection overtly horror, the weirdness and uncomfortable places it goes puts it in the horror-adjacent category for me.
Basicially all the stories in the collection were reminiscent of Shirley Jackson in both style and substance. This was especially the case with “Any Other,” “The Delivery,” “Bulls-Eye,” “Half Dollar,” “Maulahwiyah,” in which an ordinary seeming situation turns dark or darkly comedic with a twist at the end. These stories are about small moments, sometimes not even all that much happens in them. But they each offer a glimpse into someone else’s mind, and isn’t that why we read? To escape ourselves for a moment?
Stories like “Strange Loop,” “Don’t Lets,” “Get Back,” “The Halifax Slasher,” and “Manifest” lean more into the horror angle. “Don’t Lets” is one of my favorites of the collection. “The Halifax Slasher” gives an interesting angle on the idea of the serial killer, even if it isn’t an overtly scary story.
Some of the stories have a coming-of-age vibe, like “Loser” and “Kudzu,” both of which have younger characters just trying to find their way in the world and coming up against the small but still difficult moments of becoming an adult.
Most of the stories are truly short, flash fiction pieces of just a few pages. Jemc isn’t afraid of giving the reader just a taste of the worlds swirling in her mind, just a small peek behind the curtain, and it really left me wanting more. This is a very different style of writing, and if you are more of a reader who wants that Freytag Pyramid type of tale with clear elements like a beginning, climax, and end, these might not be your cup of tea. But they were just the poison for me.
My thanks to FSG x MCD for my copy of this one to read and review.
With this short story collection, Jemc proves she has a lot more up her sleeve. While I wouldn’t call this collection overtly horror, the weirdness and uncomfortable places it goes puts it in the horror-adjacent category for me.
Basicially all the stories in the collection were reminiscent of Shirley Jackson in both style and substance. This was especially the case with “Any Other,” “The Delivery,” “Bulls-Eye,” “Half Dollar,” “Maulahwiyah,” in which an ordinary seeming situation turns dark or darkly comedic with a twist at the end. These stories are about small moments, sometimes not even all that much happens in them. But they each offer a glimpse into someone else’s mind, and isn’t that why we read? To escape ourselves for a moment?
Stories like “Strange Loop,” “Don’t Lets,” “Get Back,” “The Halifax Slasher,” and “Manifest” lean more into the horror angle. “Don’t Lets” is one of my favorites of the collection. “The Halifax Slasher” gives an interesting angle on the idea of the serial killer, even if it isn’t an overtly scary story.
Some of the stories have a coming-of-age vibe, like “Loser” and “Kudzu,” both of which have younger characters just trying to find their way in the world and coming up against the small but still difficult moments of becoming an adult.
Most of the stories are truly short, flash fiction pieces of just a few pages. Jemc isn’t afraid of giving the reader just a taste of the worlds swirling in her mind, just a small peek behind the curtain, and it really left me wanting more. This is a very different style of writing, and if you are more of a reader who wants that Freytag Pyramid type of tale with clear elements like a beginning, climax, and end, these might not be your cup of tea. But they were just the poison for me.
My thanks to FSG x MCD for my copy of this one to read and review.