Sylvia Plath Watches Us Sleep… but we don't mind – Victoria Richards

 

If ever a title was going to lure you in then this is it! An arresting short story collection by journalist Victoria Richards will have you entertained and 'thought provoked' in equal measure. 

There's something almost ghostly, sinister even about many of the stories, some dystopian others just plain weird! But in a good way.

Victoria Richards uses the short story medium well. It's an underrated art - to create your characters, scene and plot in a more limited number of words requires concise thinking and an aptitude for the salient without compromising the story. This author understands her genre so well.

The stories are diverse but there are clear themes - mental health, loss, relationships gone awry - all dealt with in compassionate ways that favours the female perspective. 

Favourites? Several. The story that gives the collection its title, subliminally your knowledge of Plath, her life and her work, influences your response to the story. And The World Was Water  bleakly apocalyptic. Earnest Magnitude's Infinite Sadness which blends magical realism with political and environmental concerns.  

The writing is crisp and assured, economic without being sparse. Without doubt a writer to watch.

Thank you Fly on the Wall Press for my subscription copy.