‘Girls, At Play’, by Celeste Ng Read it here in about half an hour. Trigger warning: makes reference to teenage girls and sexual activity. Thinking about how the story opens, and how readers are engaged… The first paragraph uses an unemotional and factual tone to describe something shocking – a sexualised game, played by childrenContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
Author Archives: Mina Ma
Book review
‘A Year in Provence’, by Peter Mayle The setting of this creative nonfiction book, Provence, in the south of France, conjures up feelings of nostalgia for me, as I spent many sun-soaked, soporific, childhood holidays in the region. This is enhanced by the fact it was written and published so long ago – in 1989,Continue reading “Book review”
A short story I recently read
‘The Elephant’, by Chan Chi Wa (translated by Audrey Heijins) Read it here, in less than 10 minutes. Thinking about how the story opens, and how readers are engaged… This short story begins with ‘After the elephant vanished, my life fell into chaos’. Perhaps the reader could imagine a circus owner saying something like thisContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
Three of my favourite short stories
The Company of Wolves, by Angela Carter I love adaptations, especially of fairy tales, folk tales, and myths. Adaptations offer endless possibilities for the creation of new worlds and meanings, but within the familiarity of old tales. This particular short story adapts the Little Red Riding Hood oral folk tale, but subverts its original messageContinue reading “Three of my favourite short stories”
Mina Ma 