(Drivebycuriosity) - I like short stories. Often a writer has an interesting idea which carries a story about maybe 100 pages or less, but when she stretches the plot the story gets thinner and thinner and the text has too many fillers. Just a minority of authors is capable to keep the tension over hundreds of pages. Long books are often like watered down wine.
Amazon has a series of e-books, called "Kindle Single", which typically contain between 5,000 and 30,000 words - the perfect place for short stories & novellas (usually between 17,500 and 40,000 words).
Recently I read "The Grownup" by Gillian Flynn (just 62 pages amazon ). The story got my attention because I had enjoyed Flynn`s "Gone Girl" (book & movie driveby ). "The Grownup" is written in first person and told by a young woman, who earned her living by begging, soft-prostitution & pretending to be a psychic. Using her pretended paranormal skills she tries to exploit a new customer, a wealthy unhappy married woman with a troubled stepson. Don´t expect much action, it`s a psychological thriller full of lies & feints (this is a spoiler-free blog).
The story, which won 2015 the Edgar Award, for best mystery short story
of the year, isn`t as quite as strong as the bestseller book. Many
commentators on Amazon didn `t like it. Many complained that it was too
short. But I enjoyed the "Grownup" anyway. I think a short story can be a
sketch and doesn´t need to roll any idea totally out. It can leave the
reader room for imagination.
"The Grownup" gave me something to think about. It´s cool, spiced with
sarcastic observations and is told with a sharp wit and a dry humor .
But don´t expect a satisfying ending
"The Grownup" is a little treat for Gillian Flynn fans and connoisseur of twisted short stories.
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