After an extremely busy long weekend, I'm back with not one, but two short story reviews!
First up is Cut & Thirst by Margaret Atwood, best known for her novel The Handmaid's Tale, which has also inspired a hit television series of the same name. Cut & Thirst deals with misogyny, cancer, dementia, bullying, and sexism.
In this short story, we follow three friends (Myrna, Leonie, and Chrissy) as they plot a couple of murders. Another of their friends, Fern, has had her career and her confidence damaged by a group of men who tried to sabotage a book that she released. Not to mention, the group thinks that Fern's health took a hit as well. No matter that the actual book release and subsequent sabotage took place decades ago, they're ready to take their revenge. All for Fern, of course. Unfortunately for them, it turns out that murder can be pretty tricky to plan out.
This little story was so charming. It took less than an hour to read, and rest assured that no actual murdering occurs. The characters were quite entertaining, it was a cute story to enjoy during the holiday. I'm giving it 3.75 stars out of 5.
For more from Margaret Atwood, check out https://margaretatwood.ca/
Pairs well with a gin & tonic and a lunch full of reminiscing.
Next we have Tiger Chair by Max Brooks, who wrote World War Z, a hit book that was turned into a movie that fit right into the zombie craze of the early 2010s. This short story doesn't have anything to do with zombies, but it does still deal with war, as well as death, violence, and xenophobia.
In this story, a Chinese soldier writes home about the realities that he and his fellow soldiers are facing as they infiltrate California. The propaganda tells the Chinese populace that the war is going well, but the insurgents in Los Angeles are fighting back, and this soldier isn't so sure they aren't winning. He risks everything to smuggle a letter to a friend back home, which is equal parts complaining about the situation and the lies they've been told, whining about the audacity of the Chinese-Americans to fight against their forces, and begging for his friend to find his son and make sure he never has to fight. Because this war has been going on for decades and it may continue for decades more.
This was a far cry for the light-hearted plotting in Cut & Thirst. It was also less than an hour to read, but the story hit a little too close to home considering what we've been dealing with in the last few years with foreign propaganda, bots all over social media, and the numerous conflicts we've seen across the globe. I gave this 2.5 stars out of 5, it really wasn't my kind of story, although it does have a hopeful backdrop that America could get it together and stop being so divisive within itself.
For more from Max Brooks, head to https://www.maxbrooks.com/
Pairs well with a vodka tonic and an underground bunker.
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