review by Maryom
Peirene's sixth publication is a collection of short stories by Austrian author Alois Hotschnig, rather strange and very difficult to pin down stories.
I was racking my brain for a way to describe this collection without re-telling every single tale - and I'm hoping this makes sense. Look on them as points of illumination, imagine you've walked into a dimly lit room. You think you know what's there but if a spotlight is turned on, the shadows disappear and other things are revealed - not necessarily pleasant things...
If you like to know where you are with a story, to know the ground is firm and solid beneath your feet - then this is not the thing for you. These tales twist and turn in the way that dreams, or even nightmares, do. A normal everyday scene morphs into something bizarre and contorted, as if seen through the distorting mirrors of a funfair; the pleasant seeming surface of a suburban street or lakeside shifts, distorts and reveals it's dark hidden side; identities and boundaries slip and blur. A collection that leaves the reader asking questions and that I'm sure will reveal more on a second or third read.
Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Peirene Press
Genre - Adult Literary Fiction
Buy Maybe This Time
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