Montreal-based writer Cassandra Khaw combines lyricism and brevity in short works of horror and dark fantasy
When Khaw is at their best, their writing has teeth – blackened, razor sharp, and ready to rend flesh.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 31: “The Witness for the Prosecution” by Agatha Christie
Chirstie’s story, which was later adapted by the author for the stage and by Billy Wilder for film, is exemplary of her patented twist endings.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 30: “The Alps” by Colin Barrett
Canadian-Irish writer Colin Barrett is a wizard with language that sings with the rhythms and cadences of the working class.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 29: “Peach Cobbler” by Deesha Philyaw
Philyaw’s story is set at the intersection of race and class, and focuses on a mother’s attempts to shield her daughter from pain by systematically denying her pleasure.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 28: “Hotel Tango” by Cora Siré
In this story about a man’s assignation with a married woman, the chaos and culture of Buenos Aires serve as metaphors for the couple’s incompatibility.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 27: “Sin” by Cynthia Ozick
The ninety-four-year-old author’s story, about art and failure, is charged with typically graceful and metaphorical language.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 26: “The Fate of the Son of the Man on the Horse” by Rawi Hage
Hage’s story of a doomed, ineffectual man is a layered consideration of religion, history, and the nature of celebrity.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 25: “Ordinary Love Song” by Alex Pugsley
Pugsley resurrects a seldom-used literary form – the epistolary story – and repurposes it for the internet age.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 23: “The Journal” by Stanislaw Lem; Antonia Lloyd-Jones, trans.
A story that takes up philosophical questions about the nature of creation and the paradoxes inherent in a divine creator becomes a more straightforward SF tale in its final moments.
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 22: “Raw Material” by A.S. Byatt
Byatt’s story, about a creative writing teacher and a promising older student, contains a submerged lesson about how to write worthwhile literature.