A collection of short and flash fiction, Little Fortified Stories does in a few short paragraphs what many stories strive to do in 200+ pages: tell an effective and memorable tale.
Separated into categories, which in the case of” Distillations” is further separated into different spirits like “Rum” and “Gin”, each story feels separate and unique. These are stories of hope, discovery, loneliness, joy and many other things. There is a story for everyone, with my favourites being “Barker’s Quality Wood Floor Cream” where a woman falls in love with a ghost, since I love ghost stories, and “Observations from a Visit to the Museum of Saint Barbara,” as it’s told in list form as opposed to a linear structure. I read the latter a few times because of how different this was.)
“Good stories make you want to go back and re-read them.”
I like stories that make you think about what you read, either in how it is presented or the information you’ve received. I also like those that make you question what you might have missed: what hints or important details you gloss over. Good stories make you want to go back and re-read them.
However, it is worth noting while I think there’s a story for everyone in Little Fortified Stories, some might be turned off by how it’s laid out. It’s not like stories you are familiar with from grade school. This is not Ernest Hemingway or Flannery O’Connor; this is Barbara Black and she shows you how far the short story can go. It’s not just a story that starts and ends with a possible theme or message. It can be lyrical, and it can be poetic, while still transporting you to another place and/or time.
About the Author
Barbara Black writes short and flash fiction, poetry and libretti. Black’s writing appears in The Cincinnati Review, Geist, The Hong Kong Review, Prairie Fire, and CV2, and in anthologies, including Bath Flash Fiction Award 2021, and Hologram: Homage to P.K. Page. She is the author of Music from a Strange Planet (Caitlin Press, 2021), which was the winner of the 2023 Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Award for Fiction, and a finalist for the 2023 International Book Awards, and the 2023 Canadian Book Club Award. She lives in Victoria, BC, where she gardens and rides her trusty Triumph motorcycle.
About the Reviewer
Katie Ingram is a freelance journalist and the author of Breaking Disaster: Newspaper Stories of the Halifax Explosion. She’s also a part-time instructor with the University of King’s College School of Journalism, Writing and Publishing.
Book Details
Publisher : Caitlin Press (May 17 2024)
Language : English
Paperback : 180 pages
ISBN-10 : 1773861409
ISBN-13 : 978-1773861401