Little is known of the fascinating manuscript that Nick Bantock has come to possess. It was discovered in an attic in North London, stuffed into a battered cardboard box, and unceremoniously delivered directly to Nick’s doorstep. Inside the package lay one hundred evocatively absurd stories, one hundred humorous drawings of strangely familiar, quirkish glyphs, plus a cryptically poetic note signed only as “HH.” (Possibly the well-known, eccentric billionaire, Hamilton Hasp?)
In these stories-each consisting of precisely 100 words-strange creatures slip through alleyways, and eerie streets swallow people whole. Taken altogether, they may constitute a puzzle that no one has been able to solve thus far. Could there even be one missing story?
For those perceptive readers with a curious mind, the celebrated author of Griffin & Sabine cordially invites you to find your own path through his beguiling conundrum of drabbles–or even to contribute one of your very own.
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Whilst trying on various items of lingerie, in Selfridges’ dark-walled changing rooms, she was distracted by the sound of someone in the next cubical whistling ‘The William Tell Overture’ rather badly.
– THE CORSET & THE JELLYFISH
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(@TachyonPub, 7 November 2023, e-galley, 176 pages, copy from the publisher via @edelweiss_squad)
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I had a lot of fun reading The Corset & the Jellyfish, my first taste of the author. This book contains 100-word stories that span genres, space and time. I liked the range of stories on offer and how no two pieces were the same. I like the stories that verge on the fantastic featuring all manner of fantastical creatures, myths and monsters and I liked the stories more seeped in reality. This book is an excellent example of just how powerful so few words can be.
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