Smith, the original winner of the chapbook contest, puts forth two of the most moving (and peculiar) stories in the book — “Colts,” which suggests that all unhappy families are, in fact, similar, and “Mermaid,” about a sister’s suicide. And although Fish’s stories didn’t resonate as strongly with me, they are excellent examples of the punch short shorts can pack.
These stories are quirky and urgenty, and set apart somehow from standard short-story collections or anthologies. These aren’t just stories, A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness seems to tell the reader — it’s a so-old-it’s-new-again way of thinking about, and telling, tales.
Amy Clark reads from A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness | Rose Metal Press | 207 pages | $16 | 7 pm June 19 | Longfellow Books, One Monument Way, Portland | Free | 207.772.4045
Deirdre Fulton can be reached atdfulton@phx.com.
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