Maps of Imaginary Towns - SJ Bradley

 

I think the most forcible thing that struck me upon completion of this short story collection was how open ended the stories are, inconclusive almost, leaving the reader to take over with their own imaginations. And whilst the stories might appear inconclusive such a device renders the work inclusive for the willing reader as if the writer is inviting you to become cerebrally involved rather than merely entertained. The second thing that struck me was a sense of being off kilter, as if I was navigating dream narratives. That made me think of Kafka and some of his short stories. The sense of nothing being quite right. The protagonists struggling against bureaucracies, conventions and society itself even.

The stories boast a range of ideas, themes and chronology from futuristic, dystopian worlds - Backstreet Nursery 2050, The Life of Your Dreams to domestic abuse - Dance Class - and grief, in the story that gives the collection its title,  Maps of Imaginary Towns  yet some of the stories are almost impossible to categorise definitively, which I love. There seems to be such a need today to label and compartmentalise that it is so refreshing to have something that tests those boundaries, make the reader think, question and ponder.

The collection is diverse; expansive and imaginative with narratives that are economic without being lacking. Some stories were short, two or three pages maybe against some of their longer 'colleagues' yet they packed as much punch as the lengthier ones because it’s quality not quantity that counts. As a scribbler myself, (not just unpublished, never to be published, I think!) I have written pieces that I have all but discarded because I felt they were too 'short' so some of the stories here filled me with disproportionate joy! 

I found it easiest to discern a unified style throughout the book by the characterisations. Their gender, age, ethnicity etc. didn't matter. It was as if it  were one and the same person in different incarnations. That is a similar feeling I get from reading Kafka where the main protagonists may have different names and so on but it is as if the same character appears in each story or novel. 

I could try to say which were my favourites but it's tough because I might end up listing the entire compendium! Suffice to say that anyone who enjoys short stories should find something to excite them here. 

My thanks to Fly on the Wall Press who gifted me a proof.