A woman builds her lover from carefully scavenged pieces and parts. A young girl is groomed for madness by one who loves her most. A neurodivergent boy organizes his life, and loss, by the ticking of a clock. And love can be the most splendid and destructive force in the entire world.
Love is a Crematorium and Other Tales is a collection of seventeen stories that are both bleak and beautiful, devastating and sweet. Enter the crematorium to experience grief, starlit nights, and gorgeous tragedy that make our souls burn from the inside out.
Beautiful and sickening, disturbing and hopeful. Wonderful, warped, haunting and heartbreaking are all words that come to mind when I reflect on what I've just read. These incredible stories put me through the wringer.
A mother's love, a sister's trauma, and an abused beaten-down daughter felt all too real in these tales.
I thought I might be in for something more lighthearted as I began to read about a woman with sentient hair but no. Even the surreal and fantastical managed to rip my heart out.
There are stories with impossible situations and others that could happen and do happen. The title story and "Clock" are especially hard-hitting. If I seem to be cutting this review short it's because I'm sitting here stunned.
My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications.
This sounds like a book for me!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! but be prepared for your heart to get stomped on. The title story especially hurt.
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