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A review by valentinefleisch
And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste
3.0
WLW representation! There is lesbian/queer/WLW representation in a few of these stories, though not all. I have to include this as a disclaimer because I know some of you will always tune in for LGBTQ+ content. I know because I'm one of you.
Whenever I read a short story collection, I look for thematic cohesion. And Your Smile Will Untether the Universe is interesting because it seems to like to play with variation. Almost all of these stories follow women, and they often look at women's relationships, particularly with other women. Mothers, daughters, sisters, best friends, and lovers are often at the forefront of these tales. Across the volume, stories speak back and forth to each other: "All the Red Apples Have Withered to Gray" and "The Tower Princesses" are feminist fairy tale retellings. "The Man in the Ambry" and "Find Me Mommy" are situated in child-accessible hidden spaces. "The Five-Day Summer Camp" and "Ten Things to Know About the Ten Questions" involve the forcible segregation of children. "Audrey at Night" and "By Now, I'll Probably Be Gone" both contain vengeful hauntings. And so on. What I'm getting at is that there is cohesion among these stories, but there is also a quality that sometimes feels like variations on a theme. If I were to classify these stories, I would call them feminist horror, but they're also about connections between people and how these connections can be incredibly horrific and painful. Sometimes they can be beautiful. Sometimes they can be both at once.
I enjoyed all of these stories. Another thing that you could call And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe is consistent, which cannot always be said of short story collections. Every story was high quality, well-written, and well-plotted. Nonetheless, I want to say a few words about a few of my favorites (though as I indicated, it's quite hard to choose favorites when all the stories are of roughly equal caliber).
"The Man in the Ambry": Written in an epistolary style, this story follows a girl throughout several years of her life, depicted through the her letters to the man who haunts the ambry. I think that this might have been the creepiest one, because the horror is the kind that creeps around just out of reach of light. It's quite ambiguous throughout, so by the end it is uncertain whether this story should be viewed as horrific or heart-rending. I like to go with a triumphant interpretation, though.
"Audrey at Night": The image that is central to this story at the beginning is one of the creepiest throughout the book, though I won't elaborate so that you can read it for yourself. I also don't want to say much about the plot, other than that it follows a pregnant woman who is being haunted by the titular Audrey. The ending was what made the greatest impression on me, though obviously I can't tell you why. All I'll say, is that the relationship between the protagonist and the ghost is incredibly intriguing.
"Skin Like Honey and Lace:" One of the queer stories in the collection, and the one that strikes me as the most sci-fi. This story follows an unusual girl who must steal the flesh of others to fuse with her own. It's as a cool as it sounds, but it's primarily about friendship and loyalty rather than monster movie shenanigans (though those are there). It gave me kind of an Under the Skin vibe.
Verdict is highly recommend!
Whenever I read a short story collection, I look for thematic cohesion. And Your Smile Will Untether the Universe is interesting because it seems to like to play with variation. Almost all of these stories follow women, and they often look at women's relationships, particularly with other women. Mothers, daughters, sisters, best friends, and lovers are often at the forefront of these tales. Across the volume, stories speak back and forth to each other: "All the Red Apples Have Withered to Gray" and "The Tower Princesses" are feminist fairy tale retellings. "The Man in the Ambry" and "Find Me Mommy" are situated in child-accessible hidden spaces. "The Five-Day Summer Camp" and "Ten Things to Know About the Ten Questions" involve the forcible segregation of children. "Audrey at Night" and "By Now, I'll Probably Be Gone" both contain vengeful hauntings. And so on. What I'm getting at is that there is cohesion among these stories, but there is also a quality that sometimes feels like variations on a theme. If I were to classify these stories, I would call them feminist horror, but they're also about connections between people and how these connections can be incredibly horrific and painful. Sometimes they can be beautiful. Sometimes they can be both at once.
I enjoyed all of these stories. Another thing that you could call And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe is consistent, which cannot always be said of short story collections. Every story was high quality, well-written, and well-plotted. Nonetheless, I want to say a few words about a few of my favorites (though as I indicated, it's quite hard to choose favorites when all the stories are of roughly equal caliber).
"The Man in the Ambry": Written in an epistolary style, this story follows a girl throughout several years of her life, depicted through the her letters to the man who haunts the ambry. I think that this might have been the creepiest one, because the horror is the kind that creeps around just out of reach of light. It's quite ambiguous throughout, so by the end it is uncertain whether this story should be viewed as horrific or heart-rending. I like to go with a triumphant interpretation, though.
"Audrey at Night": The image that is central to this story at the beginning is one of the creepiest throughout the book, though I won't elaborate so that you can read it for yourself. I also don't want to say much about the plot, other than that it follows a pregnant woman who is being haunted by the titular Audrey. The ending was what made the greatest impression on me, though obviously I can't tell you why. All I'll say, is that the relationship between the protagonist and the ghost is incredibly intriguing.
"Skin Like Honey and Lace:" One of the queer stories in the collection, and the one that strikes me as the most sci-fi. This story follows an unusual girl who must steal the flesh of others to fuse with her own. It's as a cool as it sounds, but it's primarily about friendship and loyalty rather than monster movie shenanigans (though those are there). It gave me kind of an Under the Skin vibe.
Verdict is highly recommend!