Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by not_bender
And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste
4.0
I'm not entirely sure how or when I got word of Gwendolyn Kiste and this collection; I'd previously thought it was through maybe one of the Year's Best Weird Fiction volumes or one of the Jeff and Anne VanderMeer-edited tomes, but...apparently not. She must have shown up on my radar in another fashion. Regardless, I'm very glad she did. This collection felt more like dark fantasy than horror which was also surprising, but not unwelcome; still weirdness, still well written and interesting, and a nice break from the bleakness (though there was some bleakness in several of the tales).
A nice mix of story lengths and different narrative voices and choices kept me interested and burning through the pages at a nice clip. Some favorites: "Something Borrowed, Something Blue", for its strangeness; same with "Ten Things to Know About the Ten Questions". "Audrey at Night" through the end of the collection, for similar reasons. Particular mention goes to the title story, because it involves film and for whatever reason I just totally dig any weird stories that deal with films, be they cursed or not. I am definitely interested in exploring more of her work in the future!
A nice mix of story lengths and different narrative voices and choices kept me interested and burning through the pages at a nice clip. Some favorites: "Something Borrowed, Something Blue", for its strangeness; same with "Ten Things to Know About the Ten Questions". "Audrey at Night" through the end of the collection, for similar reasons. Particular mention goes to the title story, because it involves film and for whatever reason I just totally dig any weird stories that deal with films, be they cursed or not. I am definitely interested in exploring more of her work in the future!