As Told by Things (Atthis Arts LLC, 2018), edited by E. D. E. Bell, is a collection of twenty-five stories told from the perspective of inanimate objects. The stories range in tone from humorous to dark, and all are short pieces that can easily be devoured in even a brief amount of time, making the book a quick read overall, and also perfect for those who like short doses of cleverly written stories.
Some of the stories are quite forthcoming with the object telling the story, while others make you tease it out of their language. The items themselves range from commonplace to rare, but all of the stories treat the objects as important. Two stories dealing with common items in a touching and poignant way are “Growing as You’re Walking Past” by Donnie Martino and “The Playful Protector” by Jasre’ Ellis.
My favorite story in the collection was “Imago Mundi” by Evan Dicken, telling the story of a map over time. The story weaves together the political changes in the lands depicted by the map with the map’s own views on its existence. I also greatly enjoyed “The Pea and the Princess,” by Stephanie Vance, which was a fun flip on a fairy tale from the perspective of the pea stuffed between the mattresses of the visiting princess. And “The Malkin and Thel Tarot Catalog (Midsummer’s Ever, 2018)” by Robert Dawson is easily the most entertaining catalog I’ve ever read.
If you enjoy bite-sized stories and unique ways of telling those stories, you’ll enjoy As Told by Things!
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