I received this book from River Street Writing in exchange for an honest review.
“Yes, baby…That’s exactly what a purple bear should do,” (“Purple Bears,” Ghadery 47).
I adore flash fiction. I think it’s an underappreciated form of writing and incredibly challenging to develop character, plot, and setting in a story that typically consists of only 1-3 pages. Ghadery’s collection is absolutely stunning though, I was shocked by the amount of depth and heart in each of these stories. Some of the characters appear in a few stories or reference others, which I enjoyed. Each story was still its own but it was nice to see some overlap or recognize name or nod to another story, but I loved the variety of these tiny stories.
Typically when reviewing short story collections I like to give a mini review for each story in the collection, but I don’t think it’s a fair thing to do for a flash fiction collection. For one thing there are thirty-three stories in the collection, for another the stories are so short that I risk spoiling them which isn’t something I want to do. I will highlight a few of my favourites though. I loved the strong emotion in “Jaws” and “Purple Bears,” the latter of which made me feel such a wide range of feelings and was quite powerful. I liked the characterization and backstory in “Caviar,” the titular “Widow Fantasies,” and “Waved.” And I loved the humour in “Horse Girls,” “TikTok Virgin,” and “Tennis Whites.”
Widow Fantasies is an incredibly strong collection of flash fiction that covers a wide variety of topics with a stunning cast of characters. I loved getting a glimpse into each of their minds and hearts and can’t wait to see what Ghadery writes next!
Publication: September 1 2024
Publisher: Gordon Hill Press
Pages: 92 pages (PDF)
Source: River Street Writing
Genre: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories, Canadian
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Fantasies are places we briefly visit; we can’t live there. The stories in Widow Fantasies deftly explore the subjugation of women through the often subversive act of fantasizing. From a variety of perspectives, through a symphony of voices, Widow Fantasies immerses the reader in the domestic rural gothic, offering up unforgettable stories from the shadowed lives of girls and women.
Sarah O'Connor 