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Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.​  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

Short stories: Protest & The Best of Fiction on the Web

14/1/2020

10 Comments

 
Having begun the year’s reviews with a Kindle catch-up, including a couple of single-author collections, my attention was drawn to another couple of multi-author short-story anthologies waiting on my physical shelf. I don’t know why I’d neglected them. Perhaps because anthologies are harder than novels to review? Whatever reason, I’ve finally read them. Enjoyed them. And now I’m here to tell you why.
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Protest edited by Ra Page

Commissioned at a relatively quiet time in British politics, this anthology of twenty short stories served as a welcome antidote to the dispiriting rise of right-wing populism when it was first published in the age of Trump and Brexit in the summer of 2017. Reading it less than a month after the Left’s devastation in the December 2019 general election, it feels even more vital to be reminded of how, over six centuries, ordinary people have fought against the Right for what was right. At least that’s my excuse for leaving my review copy, generously supplied by Comma Press, sitting on the shelf for two years.
 
As with our weekly flash fiction challenges, it’s interesting to see how different writers respond to a particular prompt. Each was asked to fictionalise a well-known or lesser-known episode, ranging from the peasants’ revolt of 1381 to the 2003 demonstration against the war with Iraq, working in consultation with an academic or eyewitness consultant to avoid straying from the facts. With each story followed by an afterword from the associated expert, the collection affords a rare insight into the relative merits of fiction and non-fiction.
 
While I appreciated the latter for filling some of the gaps in my knowledge, and was interested in the pieces on crowd psychology, my allegiance lies with the story. I welcome the opportunity for historical and political education, but my heart is with the characters and their emotional journeys. A few stories, I felt, overdid the context, rendering the commentary almost redundant, while a few were so subtle, or tricksy in their structure, I dashed to the non-fiction essay to process what I’d read.
 
I also found a couple of stories too heavy in signposting the relevance of historical events to the 21st-century, hardly necessary when that’s the premise of the whole book. Yet one of my favourite stories – “Withen” by Martyn Bedford – connects the Battle of Orgreave during the miners’ strike with a middle-aged man attending his father’s funeral thirty years later to great effect. (My own story “The Witch’s Funeral”, published in my collection, Becoming Someone, does something similar. You can hear me read the opening below.) This story’s surprise ending speaks volumes about the painful legacy of those years.
 
My two other favourite stories both showcase a relationship in crisis as a couple take part in a protest march about which one partner is decidedly ambivalent. Stuart Evers takes a risk that pays dividends in “The Blind Light” by presenting the Aldermaston marches (against nuclear weapons) from the point of view of a curmudgeonly and cowardly character, who nevertheless earns our sympathy. But the final story, “The Turd Tree” by Kate Clanchy, has to be the best of the lot, with the personal reverberations of an unanticipated ending perfectly echoing the political aftermath.
 
Other highlights include “Kick-Start” by Sandra Alland for opening my eyes (pun intended) to the infantilisation and exploitation of people with sight loss in 1920; “There Are Five Ways Out Of This Room” by Michelle Green for the visceral description of the force-feeding of suffragettes (as well as a fabulous title); and “Exterior Paint” by Kit de Waal in which a Caribbean immigrant finds the courage to fight for his white girlfriend from a surprise appearance of Malcom X. If you’re left-leaning, and look to literature to both educate and entertain this is for you.


The Best of Fiction on the Web edited by Charlie Fish

Fiction on the Web is one of the longest running online short story magazine, a one-man labour of love publishing a new story twice a week. Well, I hope it’s a labour of love given that Charlie Fish has hosted at least half a dozen of my stories. Now he’s brought out a book of fifty-four of his favourites from over a thousand across twenty-one years, including my story, “The Neck” about a young woman who wakes up on her wedding day to find that her neck has grown as long as her arm.
 
The stories are arranged alphabetically by title and there’s something for everyone among a smorgasbord of subjects and styles. It was a real treat for me to be able to read them in print rather than reading online. Let me tell you about some of my favourites from authors around the world.
 
In “A Planned Retirement” by Bill Monks, the former guardian of the safe deposit boxes in a bank vault manages an ingenious disappearing act with most of their contents, but you’ll have to read the story to find out if he gets away with it. There’s a similar premise in “Even Steven” by OD Hegre, this time involving unethical shenanigans in the pharmaceutical industry, where the main character gets his comeuppance in a surprising way.
 
A different kind of moral issue features in Eddie Bruce’s “Hearts and Darts”, where a young marriage is tested to the extreme by the perks of the husband’s job at a Scottish distillery. “The Bridge”, Jim Bartlett’s clever reverse-chronology piece about a suicide, the only one of the collection I recall having read online, was well worth another read.
 
The beautifully lyrical post-apocalyptic story, “East” by Cameron Suey, explores how far we’d go to secure our own survival. I also loved the voice of the Navajo character bitten by a snake in Sharon Frame Gay’s “Snake Bite”.
 
Although I didn’t love every story, there was only one I regretted giving my time to, which isn’t bad for a book of over 500 pages. So it’s not only because I’m in it that I recommend this book. If you’re considering buying it, there’s the added bonus of proceeds from the sales going to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.


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I was ready to protest at the prompt for this week’s 99-word story: how do you get your head around the concept of a carried wife? Should I speculate, as with many of the The Best of Fiction on the Web stories fitting the speculative fiction genre? Could I write a flash to honour both anthologies? Mm, I'm not sure I've honoured anyone with this silly piece:
Big boned

Her mother called her big-boned. Her father called her fat. In fact, she was muscled, a world-champion weightlifter, or would be when certain legalities were fixed.

When the Religious Right were elected, she’d been too busy training to vote. Now she cursed the Compulsory Marriage Act: only a Mrs could represent Britain abroad.

A secretary arranged for the groom, along with cake, dress and flowers. An affable chap, if rather weedy, but no-one had read the small print. She had to be carried indoors for it to pass muster. They ordered an ambulance in case her new husband collapsed.
Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
10 Comments
Charli Mills
15/1/2020 01:05:23 am

Thanks for sharing both anthologies and expressing what you found of value in each. Congratulations on your story's inclusion. I recall reading The Neck. While light-hearted in tone, I found some heavy issues regarding choice for women and size. I enjoyed that she found a willing partner!

Reply
Anne Goodwin
15/1/2020 12:07:35 pm

Thanks, Charli, and I’m honoured that you remembered that story. I reread it myself along with others in the anthology and enjoyed it – it’s weird when you look back on your own work this way – but there were a few places where I could have edited it a bit tighter this time around.

Reply
Charli Mills
15/1/2020 09:22:00 pm

It is weird to look back. Much of my earlier writing exists in print copies and tear sheets. My byline is one it, I know I wrote it but I've experienced reading something I wrote feeling surprised!

Hmm. You've given me a point to chew, though. I worked hard to shut down my inner editor. But in shutting down that voice, it might be why I feel stumped when it's time for revision. Learning to look for and shape genre elements helps. I suppose I'll learn more ways. I admire how you focus on specifics when you revise.

Anne Goodwin
16/1/2020 05:46:30 pm

That’s interesting, Charli. I don’t think my inner editor ever sleeps, so I’m wondering now whether that reduces the pleasure when I’m reading. Mr A does it too but to a far lesser degree and he’s not even a writer. He is a pedant however!

ellen link
16/1/2020 12:23:31 pm

From one big boned cuddly woman to another ... good job.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
16/1/2020 05:47:24 pm

Thanks, Ellen. Can you lift weights too?

Reply
Norah Colvin
21/1/2020 10:55:25 am

I enjoyed your reviews, Anne, and think I'd enjoy both books, especially the second with your story in it. Congratulations on being included.
I enjoyed your flash too. Sometimes it's difficult to prioritise but training without opportunity may not be worth the effort. I hope the story has a happy ending. But then I remember who the author is. :)

Reply
Anne Goodwin
21/1/2020 04:21:43 pm

You know me well – and I'm not a fan of happy endings. But sometimes it depends on which character you want to win. In my flash, I must confess I was prepared to sacrifice the weedy husband if the wife could get to the games. But feel free to create your own ending ;-)

Reply
Norah Colvin
5/2/2020 11:42:27 am

Sometimes sacrifices just have to be made. I'm happy with your ending. :)

Anne Goodwin
6/2/2020 01:32:04 pm

;-)


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