Absurd. Poetic. Provocative. Cannot recommend this ENOUGH!!
The Age of Calamities by Senaa Ahmad is a collection of short stories that are as absurd as they are poetic and unexpected. Just when you think you know where the stories are going, BAM!…total-and-complete-upside-down-throw-the-tables-across-the-room switch up of events.
It’s a delight to be surprised by movements in the plotlines after reading a lot of predictable fiction. It feels like traveling through wormholes…we are in one place and then suddenly we have been whisked away to a different place. All with elegance and a flourish after which trails a smirk you can feel shining at you through the page.
Bullet summary:
- short story collection (of 9 tales)
- absurd twist of historical figures
- poetic, hilarious, and provocative writing style
The most memorable stories for me were Let’s Play Dead, The Wolves, and Choose Your Own Apocalypse (one which I can see why this is placed last and I would recommend reading last). While each story centered around “calamitous” moments and figures of history, they still felt very unique in the structure of how the author offers a point or statement or commentary. Each one felt like a new adventure or disturbing nightmare or hilarious happenings until they aren’t so hilarious anymore. It’s a bizarre set of tradgedies really. Funny, but not funny h.a.h.a…
I highly highly recommend this to anyone who’s looking for something clever, for something different, for something to get swept up in for awhile, and for those of you that simply want to be in awe of the human imagination.
Thank you to Henry Holt & Co. for the review ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All my thoughts are my own.
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Find more information on the author’s website linked here!
