Just in Case: Twenty-one Bite-sized Stories
Laura McHale Holland
Publication date: August 17th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Imagine a world where shadows of enchantment instantly render ordinary experiences eerie, terrifying or sublime, and where the unexpected becomes the norm. The twenty-one micro stories in Laura McHale Holland’s Just in Case comprise such a place: a universe where a wife betrayed relishes her revenge; a couple chugging toward retirement takes a surprising U-turn; a much maligned character finally has his say; a cozy family scene chills the blood; a curious relative cannot leave a half-human baby alone. These, and more, are what you’ll find in this book.The dark, often revealing themes in this collection marry exquisitely with the precise flash fiction form, offering a full reading experience in few words. If you enjoy engaging, short reads with deliciously poetic prose, plenty of imagery, and context left to the imagination, you’re likely to love the concise gems found herein.
REVIEW:
This was a brilliant anthology of Holland's short stories. Bordering on surrealism, the stories are all spunky and packed with a lot of punch. What also struck me was the versatility in the themes. Each story was so vastly different from the others in the theme, the message, the outcomes, that it was hard to imagine that the same mind had conceived all of them. A brilliant piece of work in short.
What struck me the most was the visualization in each story. The magical locales that Holland brings to life with her words are absolutely breathtaking. My favorite story of the lost was the darkly hilarious one about the girl and raccoons fighting for the mother's attention.
I am thankful to Xpresso Book Tours, and the author Laura McHale Holland for gifting me a copy of this book for an honest review.
Author Bio:
In all of her work, Laura McHale Holland strives to stir people’s emotions and find hope hidden in unlikely places. Her novel, The Kiminee Dream, set for release in 2020, introduces a cast of quirky characters in a fictional Illinois river town where unseen forces both help and hinder, and people learn to rise in the face of adversity, accept what can never be and embrace big dreams anew. Laura’s published books include two memoirs, two collections of flash fiction, and an anthology on sisterhood. In addition, three of her plays have been produced in San Francisco’s North Bay region.
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