In these short stories, Katy Wimhurst creates off-kilter worlds that illuminate our own.
Apocalyptic rabbits invade a town.
People overwhelmed by their lives float above an urban park.
A woman turns transparent after a virus.
The playful lens of magical realism is used to explore physical and mental illness and our fragile environment. Thought-provoking fiction with a good dose of whimsy.
Katy Wimhurst’s first collection of short stories was Snapshots of the Apocalypse (Fly on the Wall Press, 2022) and her second collection Let Them Float will be published in December 2023 (Alien Buddha Press).
Her fiction has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including The Guardian, Writers’ Forum, Cafe Irreal, Kaleidotrope, To Hull and Back, and ShooterLit. Her first book of visual poems, Fifty-One Trillion Bits, was published by Trickhouse Press (2023). She sometimes interviews writers for 3AM Magazine.
She is housebound with the illness M.E.
My thoughts: as someone who lives with chronic illness I did recognise some of the kinds of feelings present in these short stories. Most of them are gentle and moving, although the giant rabbits were a bit sinister. The longest story, the title one, was deeply intriguing. It certainly spoke to me about mental illness and the desire sometimes to just disconnect from life around you for a while.
It’s an interesting collection and full of light and darkness, some are very tiny snippets of people’s lives and others a bit more detailed. Easy to read but should be savoured as each has layers to it.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
Awesome review – thank you so much for supporting the tour x
LikeLiked by 1 person