A review by pageglue
Aiden Shaw's Penis by Nathan Alling Long, Tiki Odueso, Kiki Gonglewski, Selma Carvalho, Fernando A. Torres, Ali Said, Michael Harris Cohen, Catherine Rudolph, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, Mites Teymoorian, Deborah Green
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Aiden Shaw’s Penis is a collection of short stories and creative nonfiction that deals with the topic of censorship. As is the case with most story collections, especially from multiple authors, it’s going to be hit and miss, so rather than judging it by averaging out the quality of each story, I’m judging it based on how it curated the topic.
Censorship, when confronting it head on, is such a blunt subject. The ‘who’ and the ‘what’ of censorship is very straightforward, and, narratively speaking, it’s very easy to identify the villain of authoritarianism. The stories that interested me most in this collection that dealt with the topic in a more nuanced, amorphous way, the ‘how’ and the ‘why’.
Nathan Alling Long’s ‘The Song Bird’ explored a woman silencing herself for her abusive partner. ‘The Many Lives of Denola’ by Timi Odueso portrayed parenting/discipline as a kind of censorship through the use of the ‘cautionary tale’. The story that most resonated with me was ‘Refracted’ by Stephanie Wilderspin, which told the story of a queer woman with depression and OCD who has a crush on her new housemate, but is trying to hide those aspects of herself for the sake of not making those around her uncomfortable.
My favourite story though was ‘Cuttings’ by Michael Harris Cohen, which was about a government censor in 19th C. Prussia was going blind. The writing was really transportive and Cohen was very subtle with the theme.
Overall, despite only “enjoying” maybe half of the stories here, I think it was a successful project and I’d recommend it.
Censorship, when confronting it head on, is such a blunt subject. The ‘who’ and the ‘what’ of censorship is very straightforward, and, narratively speaking, it’s very easy to identify the villain of authoritarianism. The stories that interested me most in this collection that dealt with the topic in a more nuanced, amorphous way, the ‘how’ and the ‘why’.
Nathan Alling Long’s ‘The Song Bird’ explored a woman silencing herself for her abusive partner. ‘The Many Lives of Denola’ by Timi Odueso portrayed parenting/discipline as a kind of censorship through the use of the ‘cautionary tale’. The story that most resonated with me was ‘Refracted’ by Stephanie Wilderspin, which told the story of a queer woman with depression and OCD who has a crush on her new housemate, but is trying to hide those aspects of herself for the sake of not making those around her uncomfortable.
My favourite story though was ‘Cuttings’ by Michael Harris Cohen, which was about a government censor in 19th C. Prussia was going blind. The writing was really transportive and Cohen was very subtle with the theme.
Overall, despite only “enjoying” maybe half of the stories here, I think it was a successful project and I’d recommend it.