A review by shelleyanderson4127
Queer Square Mile by Kristi Bohata, Huw Osborne, Mihangel Morgan

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

 
This is a delightful anthology of queer short stories from Wales. Some of the almost 50 short stories were first published in Welsh and later translated into English. One of the delights is discovering so many lesbian writers (though, as the editors point out in the excellent introduction, many of the writers never publicly identified their sexual or gender identities; the word queer itself is an imported word constructed in the US). One of the earliest stories , "One June Night: the story of an Unladylike Girl" from 1883, is by Amy Dillwyn (1845-1935). Her first novel "The Rebecca Rioter"(1880), explored cross-dressing. Two stories by Kate Roberts (1891-1985), "The Treasure"(1972) and "Christmas"(1929), deal with a deep friendship between two older women, and a another relationship between a younger and an older woman, respectively. Crystal Jeans funny short stories "Go Play with Cucumbers" and "The Dead Bear" date to 2019.

The genres range from domestic dramas to modernist to science fiction. This is an anthology you can dip into anywhere and find something moving, entertaining or thought provoking. It's for anyone who enjoys short stories, Welsh literature and or queer fiction. I loved it.