‘The Man on the Stairs’ by Miranda July Read it here in about 10 minutes. Thinking about time and characterisation… I love this story. In the opening, the narrator wakes to hear someone on the stairs outside her bedroom. We have this repetition and extension of things she can hear and feel, which demonstrates herContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
Author Archives: Mina Ma
A short story I recently read
‘The Sea Shell’ by Osama Alomar Read it here in about 1 minute (there are two flash stories on the page – scroll down for ‘The Sea Shell’). Thinking about use of narrative point of view… This magical little flash story features an unnamed man walking down a beach in an unnamed land, and finding aContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
Book review
You Let Me In, by Camilla Bruce You can read the opening here (‘look inside’). This is a deeply disturbing novel. The protagonist, novelist Cassandra Tipp, has vanished, leaving behind what is essentially a memoir, a document containing two competing narratives about her life. In one story, Cassie tells of a vampiric 1,000-year old faerieContinue reading “Book review”
Book review
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell You can read an extract, here. I’ve just finished reading Cloud Atlas, and wanted to write a review about how amazing it is, but it’s difficult to do that while avoiding spoilers, and I really don’t want to ruin the reading experience of anyone who hasn’t read it yet, soContinue reading “Book review”
A short story I recently read
‘Gubeikou Spirit’ by Te-Ping Chen Read it here in about 45 minutes. Thinking about use of surrealism… The opening of this story depicts experiences that visitors to China may be familiar with: the stereotypical crowds, dashing about, pushing and shoving (‘she was beaten back against the wall’); the ‘state-of-the-art’ underground train system; the ubiquitous securityContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A short story I recently re-read
‘Black-Eyed Women’, by Viet Thanh Nguyen Read it here, in about 40 minutes. Thinking about metafiction… Metafiction is fiction that is self-referential. Fiction that draws attention to its own fictionality, either overtly (e.g. the narrator directly addresses the reader) or covertly (e.g. the story is about writing stories). Black-Eyed Women’ is all about the natureContinue reading “A short story I recently re-read”
A short story I recently read
‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Laura Demers Read it here in 18 minutes. Thinking about intertextuality… Intertextuality simply means there’s a link between one text and another. ‘Text’ here doesn’t just refer to literature; it could refer to any text, such as art or music or architecture. Some theorists argue all stories are intertextual, because every storyContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A news report I recently read
Inside Xin Jiang’s Prison State, by Ben Mauk Read it here. Thinking about bending genres and mixing forms… This report is an amazing combination of visual graphics, reportage, and creative nonfiction. It tells the story of the history of Xin Jiang (a province in China), and the ongoing repression of the Uighur people (which hasContinue reading “A news report I recently read”
A short story I recently re-read
‘We Wave and Call’ by Jon McGregor Available here. Read it in 30 minutes. Thinking about how structure and themes interact… The story begins after the young man’s death, in the present tense (simple and continuous). For me, the opening creates a sense of detachment – it’s a combination of the use of present tense;Continue reading “A short story I recently re-read”
A short story I recently re-read
‘The Paper Menagerie’, by Ken Liu Read it here in 15 minutes. Thinking about using foreign language and genre to illustrate a theme… I love how Liu uses words from a foreign language, and the magical realism genre, to show the character’s confusion about his identity. Chinese is character-based, but Liu Romanises the words soContinue reading “A short story I recently re-read”
Mina Ma 