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A review by betweenbookends
Awayland by Ramona Ausubel
3.0
‘Tragedy lends authority, especially with teenagers. There was a whole hierarchy: divorce, absent father, physical abuse, sexual abuse, dead father, dead mother, and then, at the top: dead both. It was the rarest loss, the most terrible, and the sufferer was like a precious gem, pressed by unthinkable forces into shimmering sadness, shimmering beauty.’
Ramona Ausubel’s newest collection of stories in Awayland, published on March 6th 2018, lends itself to be wholly original, whimsical, inventive and endearing. This is my second brush with the author's work having read and enjoyed her other collection, ‘A Guide to Being Born’ and I do think this is a stronger collection on the whole. Of course, there is the factor of recency to consider, however I did feel a majority of the stories were more fully realised in this collection compared to her previous.
The underlying thread that holds this collection together is the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Not in a depressing way, but in a rather melancholic, everyday, yet elusively off-beat way. What I really find commendable is that though there is an existing theme, every story feels so titular in its standing. The setting for each story is so widely diverse, ranging from Beirut, to small town America to the Caribbean islands, to Africa and even one in a simulated environment of Mars. Most of the stories felt realistic with a tinge of the otherworldly, fantastical in the most unexpected ways.
As is common in most collections, they were few stories that fell through the cracks for me, but the ones I enjoyed, I truly loved! Her writing style is so imaginative without being overwrought. My favourites from this collection were Fresh Water from the Sea, Template for a Proclamation to Save the Species, Remedy & The Animal Mummies Wish to Thank the Following.
Ramona Ausubel’s newest collection of stories in Awayland, published on March 6th 2018, lends itself to be wholly original, whimsical, inventive and endearing. This is my second brush with the author's work having read and enjoyed her other collection, ‘A Guide to Being Born’ and I do think this is a stronger collection on the whole. Of course, there is the factor of recency to consider, however I did feel a majority of the stories were more fully realised in this collection compared to her previous.
The underlying thread that holds this collection together is the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Not in a depressing way, but in a rather melancholic, everyday, yet elusively off-beat way. What I really find commendable is that though there is an existing theme, every story feels so titular in its standing. The setting for each story is so widely diverse, ranging from Beirut, to small town America to the Caribbean islands, to Africa and even one in a simulated environment of Mars. Most of the stories felt realistic with a tinge of the otherworldly, fantastical in the most unexpected ways.
As is common in most collections, they were few stories that fell through the cracks for me, but the ones I enjoyed, I truly loved! Her writing style is so imaginative without being overwrought. My favourites from this collection were Fresh Water from the Sea, Template for a Proclamation to Save the Species, Remedy & The Animal Mummies Wish to Thank the Following.