A review by beardedbarista
Droll Tales by Iris Smyles, Iris Smyles

5.0

This was a fever dream of story telling. I felt like I was reading a Wes Anderson film in book form. I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction and I honestly was so entranced in the first story I was taken aback when I realized DROLL TALES was stories! I thought I was setting a novel of human statue performers! I have always loved Smyles writing and social media persona so I knew I was in for a treat with this book. Lots of great perspectives and many of the stories have tie ins to others in the most strange ways. Definitely get some Dennis Johnson vibes from this book and while I am probably not literary enough to fully understand all of the book, this is one I will need to go back to. The title is wonderful. Short stories to me can be droll at times and I think that's part of the medium. Nothing ever gets too dark but just dark enough to keep you hinged on a smile or laugh.
Honestly I think my review is coming off a bit stream of conscious now so I'll leave y'all to it.
Go look up Smyles, buy her work and enjoy!