A review by jaclyn_sixminutesforme
She Is Haunted, by Paige Clark
5.0
Paige Clark is writing some of the most innovative and exciting short fiction I’ve read in ages! I keep saying it, but short stories are completely where it is at for me still with Australian fiction. For readers outside of Australia… this is a collection you need to get your mitts on if you:
- like your short stories clever and quirky;
- if you like explorations of mother/daughter dynamics and female relationships more broadly;
- if you’re here for dog appreciation; and
- if you love nuanced food writing in fiction.
It ticks so many boxes for me in terms of elements of fiction I enjoy - each story was immersive and completely surrounded the reader within its fold. The plays with structure were genius (I particularly loved a story that used a departmental helpline for relationships, including redacted details and the most on-point adherence to policy!)
Clark describes herself as “a Chinese/American/Australian fiction writer” - I think readers that enjoy West Coast references in their fiction as much as they love #AusLit will find a connection with these stories. I know Australian titles can be hard to track down globally, but I promise this one is worth the effort!
For me, this is the book to beat for the @readingsbooks Prize for New Australian Fiction (high praise as it’s an absolutely
- like your short stories clever and quirky;
- if you like explorations of mother/daughter dynamics and female relationships more broadly;
- if you’re here for dog appreciation; and
- if you love nuanced food writing in fiction.
It ticks so many boxes for me in terms of elements of fiction I enjoy - each story was immersive and completely surrounded the reader within its fold. The plays with structure were genius (I particularly loved a story that used a departmental helpline for relationships, including redacted details and the most on-point adherence to policy!)
Clark describes herself as “a Chinese/American/Australian fiction writer” - I think readers that enjoy West Coast references in their fiction as much as they love #AusLit will find a connection with these stories. I know Australian titles can be hard to track down globally, but I promise this one is worth the effort!
For me, this is the book to beat for the @readingsbooks Prize for New Australian Fiction (high praise as it’s an absolutely