Flash fiction forward

80 very short stories

237 pages

English language

Published Nov. 2, 2006 by W.W. Norton & Co..

ISBN:
978-0-393-32802-8
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3 stars (1 review)

1 edition

A very mixed bag

3 stars

I’ve read a lot of flash fiction in the last three years, partly due to writing a lot of flash and thus needing to make a study of what makes a story under 750 words work. I found this anthology of 80 flash pieces in a Little Free Library and thought it would be interesting to see what short fiction outside of the SFF genre looked like.

And, to be frank, I was somewhat disappointed, although not surprised. Like their longer counterparts, these stories tended to rely too much on vibe or feeling rather than satisfy any requirement of characterization and plot. The editors talk about this somewhat in the introduction, wherein they compare a flash piece more to poetry than a short story because every word matters and the reader can’t skip any. I agree, but it’s the words selected by the author (and agreed upon by the editor) …

Subjects

  • Short stories, American