Reading notes: Kathy Fish’s Wild Life

I have been lax about posting notes on my reading, though I did dedicate extra time in December to read more. It was, by the way, lovely, though I also had one of those moments when I realized that it is okay to give in to bouts of quirky taste, reading whatever works rather than what I feel I should read. I also stumbled upon a thread on Twitter about how sensitive writers are to any negative feedback so I also made a Note To Self to embrace the Southern rule of “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” so I will only share reading notes when I can write sincerely and enthusiastically about a book.

I have a few books from my month of extra reading that I want to fan-girl about, but today I’d rather talk about a book I just finished by Kathy Fish, Wild Life: Collected works from 2003-2018. I knew she was a star in terms of writing flash fiction, sometimes called short-shorts, fiction that can range from a paragraph to a few pages. After reading her book, I would call her a virtuoso. I especially loved how un-predictable yet terribly relatable each story turned out to be, moving and startling. I hate myself for saying this, because it feels cliche and reductive, but from a craft point of view, her stories helped me expand my understanding of what is possible in this short form.

Really, this is just a long way of saying I loved this collection, and I encourage you to consider reading it.