Welcome to Litsy!

Look, I love dark fiction. Gritty? Yes please—as long as it‘s well written. This book delivers. These short stories are about people desperate to connect, and in describing their often misguided attempts, no squalid detail is spared. I loved it. Parsons also writes drug experiences beautifully without relying on cliche or tropes. This book is a gorgeous, dingy, disgusting, beautiful collection; highly recommend. CW: everything you can imagine

"The need I‘ve got has corners. It‘s top-heavy and turning."
-"We Don't Come Natural to It"

"I‘ve had almost no loss in my life, but I still believe we‘re always in between tragedies, that anything good is a lull before the next devastation."
-"Glow Hunter"

"The spins don‘t feel circular to me—there‘s a kind of visual stutter, a section of the bathroom stall that keeps rewinding."
-"Guts"

I found this to be a dark and intriguing collection of short stories. King Parsons is an astute observer of the world in which we live and uses acidic wit and unadorned interpretations to propel this collection. There were moments her writing made me uncomfortable and question how I would react/act in certain situations, but all of that played into an interesting foray through her dark world view.

Collection of Texas Noir short stories. Gripping and occasionally unsettling. I loved it.

#BookReport

🌠 Finished Klotsvog which was interesting but didn't quite move me, & King Lear which was madness & chaos & just superb
🌚 Read Black Light, a short story collection that's on the 2020 Tournament of Books longlist, but I was left indifferent #ToB

#WeeklyForecast

🌺 Started The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne for #NYRBbookclub & I'm already charmed
❓ Hope to fit in one more book this week but not sure what—can't wait to find out 😁

I'm not sure what it is with contemporary short story collections from the North American Anglosphere, but I often feel deflated/bored. This has received critical acclaim & good reviews, & there's no denying that King Parsons can write a perfect sentence. However, despite the raw, grimy atmosphere & focus on people on the margins, it still came off like a cool, nonchalant, workshopped to death collection that left me feeling empty. #ToB #netgalley

#nbafiction2019 This short story collection was an interesting mix of the dark and gritty with the mundane. These stories center around the lives of the poor and the marginalized. The collection overall was a bit uneven with some stories not as strong as the others. 3.5⭐️