Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
May We Shed These Human Bodies
by
Amber Sparks (Goodreads Author)
***Best Small Press Debut of 2012 -- The Atlantic Wire***
May We Shed These Human Bodies peers through vast spaces and skies with the world's most powerful telescope to find humanity: wild and bright and hard as diamonds.
"Sparks’s debut story collection swirls with a Tim Burton-like whimsy… modern fables in which epiphanies replace moral lessons and tales unfold with Grimm...more
May We Shed These Human Bodies peers through vast spaces and skies with the world's most powerful telescope to find humanity: wild and bright and hard as diamonds.
"Sparks’s debut story collection swirls with a Tim Burton-like whimsy… modern fables in which epiphanies replace moral lessons and tales unfold with Grimm...more
Paperback, 156 pages
Published
September 30th 2012
by Curbside Splendor Publishing Inc.
(first published September 14th 2012)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,025)
Copy received through the Goodreads First Reads program.
"There were no books in the Afterwards, which the people thought was some serious bullshit." I fell in love with that line instantly, and it's only 3 pages into the book!
What an odd little collection of short stories. I don't mean that in a disparaging way at all--I think there was only one story in here that didn't really work for me. Several stories toy with experimental story structure, which often puts me off. Here, though, it works. Th...more
"There were no books in the Afterwards, which the people thought was some serious bullshit." I fell in love with that line instantly, and it's only 3 pages into the book!
What an odd little collection of short stories. I don't mean that in a disparaging way at all--I think there was only one story in here that didn't really work for me. Several stories toy with experimental story structure, which often puts me off. Here, though, it works. Th...more
5 likes · like · see review
view 2 comments
THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT THE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.
As its title suggests, May We Shed These Human Bodies (Curbside Splendor) by Amber Sparks is a collection of stories that is grounded in reality, but often has a hint of the surreal, the supernatural, woven into its fabric. The power in these stories comes from the awareness that a life is at a tipping point, and the assignment of emotional weight to everyday events we typically ignore. Just out of sight, behind the curtain, in the sh...more
As its title suggests, May We Shed These Human Bodies (Curbside Splendor) by Amber Sparks is a collection of stories that is grounded in reality, but often has a hint of the surreal, the supernatural, woven into its fabric. The power in these stories comes from the awareness that a life is at a tipping point, and the assignment of emotional weight to everyday events we typically ignore. Just out of sight, behind the curtain, in the sh...more
Review here.
Adding the Youtube Video Review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVdK7h...
I really enjoyed this and reviewed it at the Collagist, which you can check out here:
http://www.dzancbooks.org/the-collagi...
Small segment from the review: "Amber Sparks, the fairy godmother of rebirth, has a wicked genius about her that transmogrifies the ordinary and makes us long to befriend the unusual gamut of quirky fiends that occupy her pages, even if it means losing a little skin in the process."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVdK7h...
I really enjoyed this and reviewed it at the Collagist, which you can check out here:
http://www.dzancbooks.org/the-collagi...
Small segment from the review: "Amber Sparks, the fairy godmother of rebirth, has a wicked genius about her that transmogrifies the ordinary and makes us long to befriend the unusual gamut of quirky fiends that occupy her pages, even if it means losing a little skin in the process."
Amber Sparks' May We Shed These Human Bodies made me extremely jealous. As I read this electric collection of short stories, I wanted to punch her in the face but also hug her; I wanted to chew each of her fingers down to stubs so she could never write again but I also wanted to bathe each of her glorious digits in holy water so, protected, they could continue to produce such beautiful stories. Not having the book by my side, it's difficult to point to particular stories or passages but to pick-...more
"Surreal" is a title that gets thrown to anything involving dreams or Dali-esque landscapes, but usually, and certainly as of late, no one wants to build upon the surreal. They simply want it to stand on its own and be a thing in and of itself, and that will never work. That is why I love Amber's stories so much. She takes these sometimes overt, sometimes subtle, "surreal" ideas and spins them into these lovely (and often very short, which is a feat in and of itself) stories that are more about...more
This is maybe one of the best books of stories I've read in a while, a kaleidoscopic collection of narratives that had a real emotional charge, even when the form and especially the contents of the stories were, well, pretty fantastically far-out.
I think the wrap on this book is that these are newvaeu fairy tales, and I think they probably fit pretty well into that whole Bernheimer axis, but when I was reading, I kept thinking "myth, not fairy tale," like what was happening that was odd in the...more
I think the wrap on this book is that these are newvaeu fairy tales, and I think they probably fit pretty well into that whole Bernheimer axis, but when I was reading, I kept thinking "myth, not fairy tale," like what was happening that was odd in the...more
Reviewed by C. L. Bledsoe
The first story in May We Shed These Human Bodies is one of the longest and best: “Death and the People,” a creation myth-esque story about Death taking all humans, all at once, because they couldn’t bear to have anyone die alone. This actually works out pretty well for a while. The Earth is able to cleanse itself of the damage and accumulated garbage and detritus people have left, and the People, as Death calls them, have lots of time to do things they enjoy. Of course,...more
The first story in May We Shed These Human Bodies is one of the longest and best: “Death and the People,” a creation myth-esque story about Death taking all humans, all at once, because they couldn’t bear to have anyone die alone. This actually works out pretty well for a while. The Earth is able to cleanse itself of the damage and accumulated garbage and detritus people have left, and the People, as Death calls them, have lots of time to do things they enjoy. Of course,...more
Amber Sparks has the weird, wondering imagination of a child that some adults wish they still had, but most have completely forgotten.
I need to buy a copy of this physically thin, yet figuratively full collection of short stories. SO creative, strange, silly and beautiful. I cannot wait for Amber Sparks to publish again!
And I almost forgot! Found a small note inside this library book typed on an actual TYPEWRITER (can you believe it?!?!) stating: "I really enjoyed this collection, I hope you do...more
I need to buy a copy of this physically thin, yet figuratively full collection of short stories. SO creative, strange, silly and beautiful. I cannot wait for Amber Sparks to publish again!
And I almost forgot! Found a small note inside this library book typed on an actual TYPEWRITER (can you believe it?!?!) stating: "I really enjoyed this collection, I hope you do...more
4 likes · like · see review
I picked up this book from Pitchfork music festival, where they were selling a few extra advance review copies that they had. It was a total bargain and the book looked intriguing, and I was on a book-buying-kick that day, so I got it. I do not regret this decision one bit. The short stories in this book are a lot like chips - they are small, and very good, and you will sit down and read one and then read another and another and before you know it you've read half the book. However, even though...more
7 likes · like · see review
May We Shed These Human Bodies by Amber Sparks is a collection of thirty short stories, some of them a page or two in length. Most of these stories are modern fairy-tales gone wrong due to the inspiration of the idea of the fall of man. The first story in the collection, “Death and the People,” is a story much like Everyman and Dr. Faustus, yet more engaging and sarcastic. Death approaches the people and asks a single person to follow him to the afterlife, but the people are so close to one ano...more
We're publishing this book in September 2012. Amber Sparks' short stories have been widley published in literary journals. We're pulling her work together to show it off. It will punch you in the face, and you'll be thanful for it. You'll thank us. Thank the universe. Thank America. Enjoy.
“In May We Shed These Human Bodies, Amber Sparks proves herself not only a fine writer but also a high scientist of imaginative bliss: This is a collection of marvelous inventions, each one a wonder-machine pro...more
“In May We Shed These Human Bodies, Amber Sparks proves herself not only a fine writer but also a high scientist of imaginative bliss: This is a collection of marvelous inventions, each one a wonder-machine pro...more
It took me awhile to read this book of short stories because I kept wanting to stop and savor each one before moving on to the next. The stories in this, Amber Sparks' debut collection, are weird and wonderful, shocking, hilarious, horrifying, and, above all, brilliant.
The characters range from a little girl who disappears leaving nothing but her yellow boots to a boy who comes out of a bathtub, a city who wants to travel and a character known as Death who lets the people talk him out of doing h...more
The characters range from a little girl who disappears leaving nothing but her yellow boots to a boy who comes out of a bathtub, a city who wants to travel and a character known as Death who lets the people talk him out of doing h...more
This started off a little awkward for me; the language of the first story was so casual as to be off-putting. But the stories and language became more fluid and interesting the deeper I read, which made me think the writing of the first piece was an intentional style choice.
I was less interested in the stories that built upon known fairy tales (Peter Pan, for example), but I blame Maguire's "Wicked" for this. It's also one of the reasons I can't read Angela Carter. But there were fantastic piece...more
I was less interested in the stories that built upon known fairy tales (Peter Pan, for example), but I blame Maguire's "Wicked" for this. It's also one of the reasons I can't read Angela Carter. But there were fantastic piece...more
Awesomely weird.
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this review, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
Today's review comes with a bit of a personal bias; although I don't know author Amber Sparks other than being briefly introduced to her once at a party, her new book of stories has come out through our friends and peers over at Chicago's Curbside Splendor, a group that CCLaP frequently collaborates with...more
Today's review comes with a bit of a personal bias; although I don't know author Amber Sparks other than being briefly introduced to her once at a party, her new book of stories has come out through our friends and peers over at Chicago's Curbside Splendor, a group that CCLaP frequently collaborates with...more
Amber Sparks creates the kind of fiction that I’m now realizing is a sort of yin to my maximalist pomo yang. The elegant restraint and concision of the sort that I’ve been thoroughly enjoying since reading a few other (odd coincidence) A-name authors of a similar bent (Amelia Gray, Alissa Nutting, Aimee Bender) who also exude a real knack for the casually fantastical, the slyly and smartly surreal, the ability to burrow down into the whimsy and tribulations of childhood and the darkened corridor...more
17 likes · like · see review
from publisher
Read 9/11/12 - 9/18/12
4 Stars - Strongly Recommended to fans of short stories that charm, intrigue, and warn...
Pgs: 145
Publisher: Curbside Splendor
Releases: Sept 30, 2012
Amber Sparks has a knack for saying a lot with very little. The short stories in this collection range anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages long, and yet they tell their story more clearly and more entirely than some novels I have read.
This book popped up on my radar way before the review copies were avail...more
Read 9/11/12 - 9/18/12
4 Stars - Strongly Recommended to fans of short stories that charm, intrigue, and warn...
Pgs: 145
Publisher: Curbside Splendor
Releases: Sept 30, 2012
Amber Sparks has a knack for saying a lot with very little. The short stories in this collection range anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages long, and yet they tell their story more clearly and more entirely than some novels I have read.
This book popped up on my radar way before the review copies were avail...more
6 likes · like · see review
Dec 11, 2012
Gabriel
added it
I read this a few months ago, but it looks like goodreads swallowed that review. Here's what I remember:
My favorite story (though there are many here) was "The Chemistry of Objects." In a collection this eclectic, it's hard to say that any one story's representative, but I remember reading that story and being really excited to read the rest of the book, which I think I did the same day.
My favorite story (though there are many here) was "The Chemistry of Objects." In a collection this eclectic, it's hard to say that any one story's representative, but I remember reading that story and being really excited to read the rest of the book, which I think I did the same day.
"May We Shed These Human Bodies," by Amber Sparks, is a collection of very short stories that would feel at home in the pages of "Weird Tales" or floating around the 'net as "Creepy Pasta." They are unsettling, odd, speaking to deep inner truths and suspicions. Sparks writes about emotion, about humanity, about longing, about growth. They are well polished, eloquent little gems that alternately had me hating everything I've ever written, and inspiring me to do better. I think only certain kinds...more
It’s hard to believe this is Amber Sparks’ first book: most of the short stories in this collection have appeared in some of the indie lit world’s best-known magazines. With multiple publications in Annalemma, The Collagist, Unsaid, Pank, Gargoyle, Barrelhouse, and others, Sparks’ surreal and quirky stories were already ubiquitous both online and in print by the time this collection came out. It’s easy to see why. The stories in May We Shed pack a lot in their often few pages, forming mini-fable...more
One if the best freaking collections of short stories EVER WRITTEN. unique, passionate, sad, tranquil, intense. You cannot ask for more in stories like these. This is writing that begs to be read. Over and over and over. It's joyous to read this type of book for the first time as it allows me to remain hopeful for the future of writing.
Yes. It's worthy of that exalting praise. Read it and you will see.
Yes. It's worthy of that exalting praise. Read it and you will see.
I really really hope Amber Sparks will write a full length novel one day because she is brilliant! Her openings to these short stories are quite incredible and it would be fascinating to pick her brain and find out how she can articulate her ideas so well. In short, I'm jealous and wish I had that gift. There's no other way to describe it. I'm sure she's had mentors and teachers fostering her talent but its apparent she was born with her literary gifts.
One of my favorite passages from "When the...more
One of my favorite passages from "When the...more
When I heard the description of this book, I immediately bought it thinking it was something along the lines of Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris, modern fables full of poetry and dreams. But it wasn't. These are fragments of myths, summaries of dreams, outlines of post apocalyptic fables. Most of these fragments felt like in-class writing assignments, nothing felt like it took more than a couple hours to write. All the elements felt unfinished.
Very disappointing.
High 4.
Wow, what a strange, dark and wonderful collection of stories. I HIGHLY recommend this.
Amber Sparks does a wonderful job making the ordinary seem strange and the strange seem ordinary. Eerie, reflective and thought-provoking. While each story in here was totally worth reading, some of my favorites include:
The Incredible Sadness of Mythical Creatures
May We Shed These Human Bodies (the title story)
History of Heart Disease
All Imaginary People are Better at Life
You Will Be the Living Equati...more
Wow, what a strange, dark and wonderful collection of stories. I HIGHLY recommend this.
Amber Sparks does a wonderful job making the ordinary seem strange and the strange seem ordinary. Eerie, reflective and thought-provoking. While each story in here was totally worth reading, some of my favorites include:
The Incredible Sadness of Mythical Creatures
May We Shed These Human Bodies (the title story)
History of Heart Disease
All Imaginary People are Better at Life
You Will Be the Living Equati...more
2 likes · like · see review
Amber Sparks writes short, arresting contemporary fiction like its easy to do. She balances conceptualism and relatability perfectly.The book itself is gorgeous, well bound and on a pleasantly strange paper, the work of Curbside Splendor, Chicago's finest independent publisher.
Lyrical and affecting. A great volume of micro-fiction (with a few forays into prose poetry as well). Carry this around with you to look cool and intriguing.
Yes. May we shed these human bodies.
I'd suggest not reading this while in a state of melancholy.
I'd suggest not reading this while in a state of melancholy.
I'm publishing this, so yeah I love it.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
