Short Stories One

Short Stories is Natalie Long's first collection of hot-headed, willfully childish tales of bad jobs, sedimentary friendships and loving hours. Published by Camberwell Press. Cover Illustration by Grace Helmer.

A little askew and out of the loop, the chiding brevity of each story results in narrative voices that rarely target the perceivedobject of text: communication. Instead, the works are guided almost solely by the youthful impetus of their language. Long has created an inverted pidgin that is rich in contradictions, which allows for amusing, asinine but ultimately Pyrrhic victories towards connection. In Short Stories One, Long aims to present and examine, inconclusively, the ingenuous confessions of her characters' private moments woven into outer-city aspirations.

(Image shown is slightly different than the book's cover.)