Genre:
Flash Fiction/Short Story Collection
Description:
“100
by 100 is a collection of 100 stories that are each 100 words long.
Mathematically, that makes each worth 1/10 of a picture. Some of
these 0.1 pictures are scary, some are funny, some are funny and
scary, while others are just odd.”
Author:
“M.L.
Kennedy was born in Buffalo, New York, land of chicken wings,
kimmelweck rolls, and Super Bowl disappointment. Currently he lives
in Chicago, land of thick pizza, Italian Beef and rebuilding years.
100 by 100
is his third book, following his debut novella The
Mosquito Song and his
short story collection Thanksgiving for Werewolves and Other
Monstrous Tales.
No, he
doesn’t think that was a silly thing to call a book.
(Yes
he does.)”
Appraisal:
In the
book description as well as in the introduction to this collection
author M.L. Kennedy riffs off the saying “a picture is worth a
thousand words” to explain that each of these 100 word stories are
one tenth of a picture. It's a clever comparison because it helps
drive home how difficult it is to tell a good and complete story in
so few words. Yet Kennedy does it again and again. Whole pictures
even.
For
those who haven't read much flash fiction (extremely short stories,
usually no more than a few hundred words) especially the shortest of
these (100 word stories, often referred to as drabbles) you'll find
that the best short fiction authors can paint a whole picture with
just a few words. Like a good songwriter, the best flash fiction
authors can say a lot with few words, often by letting the reader
fill in the gaps without realizing that's happening, to end up with
the complete picture.
A few
of Kennedy's stories had me scratching my head, not sure of the
point. But most of them were just the opposite, getting a laugh or a
knowing nod of the head. Many times he even managed to set me up by
going one way and then deftly adding a twist at the end that I never
saw coming, making a good story even better. If you're a flash
fiction fan or interested in giving it a try this collection is a
good choice.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count:
10-11,000 words
2 comments:
Yeah, I had a similar reaction. I typically have a tough time with flash fiction, but Kennedy seemed to get it right.
Thanks for the comment, DED. I like what you said about using something like this as a palate cleanser between books. I'd never thought of it in those terms, but know between longer novels I often like to throw in something short between like you discussed.
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