On the Shelf: Corporeality

CORPOREALITY | HOLLIS SEAMON | ABLE MUSE PRESS | JANUARY 31, 2013

In Corporeality, we meet the cat lady, the professor dealing with a plagiarist while coping with personal hardships, sibling rivalry of the unnaturally cursed kind, & the dog that goes beyond everyday dog sense and scent to protect its owners. Like her preceding collection Body Work and mystery novel Flesh, this book is a testament to Seamon's ample gifts as a storyteller. 

There's something magical about a collection of short stories. I'm always astounded to see how separate stories string together to make a complete narrative, touching on similar themes and yet standing far away enough from one another to have impact on their own. Corporeality has the type of stories that I love: short, sweet, quirky, and full of fairy tale motifs.

Unfortunately, not every story in the collection holds up to some of the better ones. It was a roller coaster ride as I stumbled my way through the stories, absolutely loving some and not caring about others. By far, my favourite of the collection is "Annus Mirabilis" which follows the narrative structure of a classic fairy tale (although the content is anything but classic). For example, in this story there may be a section entitled 'The Wolf,' but it certainly doesn't relate to a wild canine.

The way Hollis Seamon twists the fairy tale structure is inspiring. Even if you don't read the rest of the collection, I highly recommend the book if only for "Annus Mirabilis." It's an incredible short story that  is definitely worth a read.

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"We've all of us, haven't we, wished for a year of miracles? A miraculous year?

Year of restoration, year of renewal, year of renaissance. Year of marvels, marvelous year.

Yeah, right. We won't get it, we know that. Not hardly. Fat chance. As if!

That's why there are fairy tales, eh?"