With thanks Net Galley, Guernica Editions and the author, Sarah Moses for the opportunity to read this eARC.
A quick and enticing read, Sarah Moses (translator of ‘Tender is the flesh’) brings us a varied landscape of short story fiction. Whilst the stories are small in stature, they are big in personality, providing windows into an array of worlds. You never feel like you need more, just that you have obtained a glimpse into the worlds and lives of others.
An unexpected delight, her writing is poetic and experimental. I feel on a second and slower read, there would be more connections and context to pick up on and study at greater depth.
A book worth undertaking!

Publishing date: 01.09.2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Guernica Editions for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

I expected: Several wildly different snippets filled with atmosphere
I got: Several snippets with an almost overarching story in some way ...
The book left me: No particular way

Amount of stories:
75 stories, spanning up to 2 pages

Features:
Dreamlike stories, almost prompt based writing

Final ranking and star rating?
3 stars, C tier. This was just fine. I think I expected a lot more from the collection than what I would realistically get. I was thrown a bit back to my early web-lurking, reading writing prompts for promptober on tumblr and AO3.
This is much higher quality than those prompts, but they struggle with the same problems. Writing an impactful story in 2 or less pages is difficult. None of these stuck with me. It felt like a fever dream I knew was weird, but I woke up not remembering anything except the vague emotions.

Okay collection. Could work for someone with a smaller attention span for short stories and wanting to dip their toes into these types of waters.

Favorite stories:
Skyscapes
Bird Suit
Rest Assured
The Pond
Photographs
I'll bring the Clouds
Shoulds
Sushi and I
Emotional Support Pet
Seeing Stars
Dance
Dream of the Subtropics
Tongs

"Strange Water" by Sarah Moses is an experimental tapestry woven together by short pieces of surreal fiction.

These bite size pieces of fiction allow the reader to float off into a snapshot of another world.

A perfect book to pack if you want a quick reward!

Thank you author Sarah Moses, Guernica Editions, and NetGalley for bringing us this title!

In the 75 “tiny fictions” found in Strange Water by Sarah Moses there are loose narrative threads scattered throughout. Reading the collection feels like wandering through a party where someone is trying out a joke on multiple groups of people. A joke that doesn’t always quite land. At times, the fictions feel like scattered poetry, like in “What Did You Mean By Fleeting?” though mostly they feel like unfinished thoughts or journal entries written in the middle of the night. None of this is surprising however, as the stories are “rooted in a single sentence—a dream sentence, a mistake sentence, a sentence uttered when the speaker thought no one was listening—whose tendrils reach into unexpected places.” It is a collection worth reading, if only to be jolted around and reminded that though you may be listening, what you are hearing may not be the truth.

I am so happy I found this little gem and had a chance to read and review it early. From Sarah Moses, acclaimed translator of Tender is the Flesh, comes a lovely and strange little book of micro stories. And let me tell you, what an amazing little book it is! I was really drawn to it by the description as I love unconventional and experimental forms of prose. Reading this book was a truly joyous experience and I had a smile on my face throughout big parts of it. To me it sat somewhere between poetry and short story as the experience of reading those micro stories often reminded me of the feelings I get while reading poetry. There is so much play with themes, sentences, unexpected shifts in storytelling and just amazing wordplay. A lot of it focused on landscapes and cityscapes, a touch of nature and a sprinkle of surrealism, a lot of weirdness but in a fun way. Some themes jump around the book popping up in different parts like a little surprise. The stories conveyed so many emotions, it’s simply impossible to list them all but the range is absolutely impressive. I loved how a word from one story could be picked up in the next and a new story would be formed around it, sometimes forming a sort of chain. It’s a book best enjoyed in little doses across a bit more extended time as there is quite a lot context switching but it will be a strange and fun experience every time.

Thank you to Guernica Editions and NetGalley for the eARC!