Breakable Things
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Cassandra Khaw's dynamic and vibrant debut collection, Breakable Things, explores the fragile and nebulous bonds that weave love and grief into our existence. This exquisite and cutting collection of stories showcases a bloody fusion of horrors from cosmic to psychological to body traumas.
"A delicious bowl of razor blades. With coiled prose and whetted instinct, Khaw's stories put a finger on the dark pulse of being human."- Rich Larson, author of Ymir and Tomorrow Factory
"A remarkable collection of tales from one of the most versatile and vital voices of their generation. Cassandra Khaw's stories are deftly wrought and sharp enough to draw blood, building entire worlds in a scant few pages. Horrifying and beautiful!"- Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones, and Ararat
"Khaw takes the familiar and gives it a vicious cutting edge. Breakable Things is haunting, and in the best way, sneaky. It gets inside you, and when you least expect it, it strikes, leaving you bloodied on the floor unsure if you're laughing or crying."- Nghi Vo, author of The Chosen and the Beautiful
"Some writers are simply indispensable if you want to understand your cultural moment. Cassandra Khaw is three of them. For reasons, take your pick: a (1) master storyteller who (2) finds multiple angles into the deepest recesses of your psyche to (3) leave you not just stricken, but strangely relieved, strangely edified. Breakable Things is a match-strike in the darkness that makes you understand the value of darkness. Enjoyed best under the covers!"- Carlos Hernandez, Award-winning author of the Sal and Gabi series
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Khaw (Nothing but Blackened Teeth) packs a gruesome punch with the 23 bite-size horror stories of their powerful but slightly uneven debut collection. A brace of standout tales, the stunning and folkloric "You Do Nothing but Freefall" (written with A. Maus) and "A Leash of Foxes, Their Stories like Barter," both center on vulpine characters. The eldritch and haunting "Don't Turn on the Lights" and "An Ocean of Eyes" offer glimpses into unknowable horrors, with Khaw wisely allowing readers only a peek into expansive worlds and magic systems. Many of these tales, including "Goddess, Worm" and "And in Our Daughters We Find a Voice," interrogate gender, trauma, and power, delivering complex female characters who are by turns deeply understandable and entirely unforgivable. While Khaw's signature lyrical flair will draw readers in, it sometimes verges on overkill, with style clouding substance until character, theme, and plot are entirely obscured by extended metaphors and writerly flourishes. It won't be for everyone, but the distinctive authorial voice and uncanny atmospherics will surely find some fans.
