Literary reviews by Tim Love.
Warning: Rather than reviews, these are often notes in preparation for reviews that were never finished, or pleas for help with understanding pieces. See Litref Reviews - a rationale for details.

Wednesday 31 July 2013

"The Mechanics' Institute Review, issue 7" (Autumn 2010)

This is nominally a periodical. It looks just like a 250+ page paperback. This issue contains short fiction mostly from Birkbeck college students, though David Foster Wallace is there too.

I liked "Harper's Daydreams" (Salena Godden), "Pest control" (Elizabeth Sarkany), "Strangely Comforting" (Sadie McKenzie), "Drought" (Aaron Cox) and especially "Holland" (Tamara Pollock). Not "The New Examiner", "Felicity Swims" or "Frozen". In "Strangely Comforting" the narrative voice is very different to the 1st person's voice in dialogue. The narrator thinks like this - "Then our eyes meet and my words snag. Vulnerability crouching behind the feral aggression. Me and Kayleigh, united by fierceness masking our fear" but talks like this - "I could be some crazy bitch, just outta pen. I could've just chipped from Holloway. Watch me follow you home an' torch your yard ... Maybe I'll get my brother an' his bredrin to gang you. You up for that?"

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