A review by strawberryfrog666
We Show What We Have Learned & Other Stories by Clare Beams

4.0

On this subtle and sinister crawl through the dense garden of the unconscious, Clare Beams is shining a light into the shadowy corners. In "Hourglass," a boarding school promising a 'transformational education,' is not what it seems. Simultaneously a classic gothic tale and a noteworthy critique of social standards for women acknowledging the weight of the 'form' part of 'conformity.' this story starts the book off in a blunt, unforgiving way. "World's End" explores the dynamics of class and power structures, and the persistent itch of coveting and unrequited love. In "Granna" a mysterious phenomenon causes Teresa to reassess her understanding of her ailing grandmother and herself. The strange scenarios presented by Clare Beams have the feeling of a forced observation, by which the subjects (and the readers) must confront the uncanny elements of the world and their psyches. These stories have the distinct sense of something alien scratching at the door. It's a familiar door but it opens now onto an unfamiliar world, a stranger one than expected. A delicately balanced study of complex emotions, teetering on the verge of a vast, grotesque uncanny valley.