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A review by tracyreads
This House of Wounds by Georgina Bruce
4.0
3.5
Georgina Bruce's debut collection dives into the realms of dark fantasy/horror. Side note to state that the cover art by Catrin Welz-Stein is absolutely spectacular and it represents the collection quite well. While all of these stories are standalone, there are common themes of loss, grief, toxic relationships, and alternate realities. There are even a few that put me in mind of some of the more fantastical Black Mirror episodes. It certainly is, I think, a commentary on how we experience life, love, and loss, and how society might shape those things.
I did struggle at times to even come close to understanding several of these stories. Not because the writing is bad, it is beautiful and organic, but because for me the narrative thread was too surreal, too thin, for me to have anything to grab on to. Bruce definitely has the ability to paint a literary picture. I actually read this with a couple of friends, Emily and Audra, and one of the things that we all agreed on was that Bruce would definitely shine at poetry and/or flash fiction. Some of these longer stories were so lush and so surreal that it was lost on me and I just couldn't connect.
That being said, I did have some absolute favorites in this collection. All of these really resonated and I loved the balance of real and imaginary.
"Cat World" - This centers around two young girls trying to survive in a world that preys on young girls. I really loved the travelling (whether real or imaginary) and the alternate universe in this one. Definite 5 star read for me.
"The Book of Dreems" - "She sensed herself dissolving into the thick, inky void and was afraid." Ooh I HATED the husband in this one. This one also boasts a form of surreal reality, patriarchy, and more. 4 stars for me.
"Wake Up, Phil" - This is another 5 star story for me. It reminds me a bit of Black Mirror and deals with a reality in which two factions of society are at war. The main character experiences major breaks in time and reality which can be difficult to follow but I absolutely enjoyed it.
"Little Heart" - Brokenness, sorrow, memory, and family are the highlights here. "Only when something breaks can you finally understand its true function and character" is a quote I really loved from this one. 4.5 stars.
and finally there is the last story in the collection, "White Rabbit". Guess what? Another 5 star story. This is another one that definitely has some bizarro elements as we watch an older man deal with the death of his wife. "He was meant to take her inside himself and hold her there, and instead the house took her inside herself and wouldn't let her go."
This collection is out on 4 June 2019.
Georgina Bruce's debut collection dives into the realms of dark fantasy/horror. Side note to state that the cover art by Catrin Welz-Stein is absolutely spectacular and it represents the collection quite well. While all of these stories are standalone, there are common themes of loss, grief, toxic relationships, and alternate realities. There are even a few that put me in mind of some of the more fantastical Black Mirror episodes. It certainly is, I think, a commentary on how we experience life, love, and loss, and how society might shape those things.
I did struggle at times to even come close to understanding several of these stories. Not because the writing is bad, it is beautiful and organic, but because for me the narrative thread was too surreal, too thin, for me to have anything to grab on to. Bruce definitely has the ability to paint a literary picture. I actually read this with a couple of friends, Emily and Audra, and one of the things that we all agreed on was that Bruce would definitely shine at poetry and/or flash fiction. Some of these longer stories were so lush and so surreal that it was lost on me and I just couldn't connect.
That being said, I did have some absolute favorites in this collection. All of these really resonated and I loved the balance of real and imaginary.
"Cat World" - This centers around two young girls trying to survive in a world that preys on young girls. I really loved the travelling (whether real or imaginary) and the alternate universe in this one. Definite 5 star read for me.
"The Book of Dreems" - "She sensed herself dissolving into the thick, inky void and was afraid." Ooh I HATED the husband in this one. This one also boasts a form of surreal reality, patriarchy, and more. 4 stars for me.
"Wake Up, Phil" - This is another 5 star story for me. It reminds me a bit of Black Mirror and deals with a reality in which two factions of society are at war. The main character experiences major breaks in time and reality which can be difficult to follow but I absolutely enjoyed it.
"Little Heart" - Brokenness, sorrow, memory, and family are the highlights here. "Only when something breaks can you finally understand its true function and character" is a quote I really loved from this one. 4.5 stars.
and finally there is the last story in the collection, "White Rabbit". Guess what? Another 5 star story. This is another one that definitely has some bizarro elements as we watch an older man deal with the death of his wife. "He was meant to take her inside himself and hold her there, and instead the house took her inside herself and wouldn't let her go."
This collection is out on 4 June 2019.