These dark, feral and unforgettable stories are about the things we can’t hold onto: a marriage drifting out with the tide, a family collapsing like a wave, a young woman’s affair that dissolves as quickly as it ignites.
From Melbourne to regional Victoria and beyond, lovers flounder in the push and pull of desire, and families are caught between duty and disarray. A restless couple are visited by an old flame, a washed-up playwright faces his demons and a woman returns to her childhood home to confront her twin brother’s ghost.
Elsewhere, a one night stand takes a sinister turn, an intoxicated eel writhes its way to the sea and a grieving gardener finds solace in the dirt beneath his nails. Brimming with dark humour, empathy and a sharp eye for the uncanny, this is an electrifying debut from an original new voice.
Review
I am not the right reader for The Slip. It was hard to write a review with this in mind; I don’t want to be critical, because I’m fairly sure my feelings about this book have more to do with my personal tastes rather than its quality. I’m leaving the star rating out of this review for this reason. However, perhaps this review will still be useful if you know where your reading preferences lie in comparison to mine. In fact, after reading two of the short stories, I told Elise that a mutual friend (whose literary tastes lie on the opposite end of the spectrum to mine) would really enjoy this collection.
There is a lot of originality in The Slip. The ideas that underlie the short stories are really interesting. Miriam Webster is not afraid of going to weird, uncomfortable places, and so the stories do leave an impression. I have to admit that I don’t understand some of the stories, and I don’t like some others. However, I certainly remember the stories and, when I think of them, I still feel the emotions they made me feel.
To be honest, my overall emotions were ‘discomfited’ and ‘challenged’, but I think that was the intention for some of these stories. I also don’t believe stories should always be easy and comfortable. I just personally really struggle with this kind of stories.
I would recommend The Slip if you’re in the mood for darker, more unusual, stories. We need unusual stories and different voices, so I hope this collection finds its readers.
Thank you to Aniko Press for the review copy.
Review by Priscilla
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