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Laura Mauro

Goodreads Author

Born

in London, The United Kingdom

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https://www.lauramauro.com

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lauranmauro

Genre

Horror, Paranormal

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December 2012

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https://www.goodreads.com/crunchyblanket

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Laura Mauro was born and raised in London and now lives in Essex under extreme duress. Her short story 'Looking for Laika' won the British Fantasy award for Best Short Fiction in 2018, and 'Sun Dogs' was shortlisted for the 2017 Shirley Jackson award in the Novelette category. Her debut collection, 'Sing Your Sadness Deep' is out now from Undertow Books. She likes Japanese wrestling, Finnish folklore and Russian space dogs. She blogs sporadically at lauramauro.com ...more

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Average rating: 3.92 · 958 ratings · 247 reviews · 33 distinct works • Similar authors

	Sing Your Sadness Deep 4.47 avg rating — 91 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Naming the Bones 4.38 avg rating — 48 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ningen 4.31 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2018	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On the shoulders of OTAVA 4.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wonderland: An Anthology by Marie O'Regan (Editor), Paul Kane (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Angela Slatter (Goodreads Author) 3.55 avg rating — 289 ratings — published 2019 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Twelve by Ellen Datlow (Goodreads Author) (Editor, Introduction), Paul Tremblay (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Kristi DeMeester (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.08 avg rating — 97 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Shadows & Tall Trees 7 by Michael Kelly (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Brian Evenson, M. Rickert (Goodreads Author) 3.84 avg rating — 94 ratings — published 2017 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	New Fears 2: More New Horror Stories by Masters of the Macabre by Mark Morris (Editor), Paul Tremblay (Goodreads Author), Tim Lebbon (Goodreads Author) 3.64 avg rating — 103 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Best of British Science Fiction 2017 by Donna Scott (Editor), Ken MacLeod, Lavie Tidhar 3.88 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2018 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Best British Horror 2014 by Johnny Mains (Editor), Laura Mauro (Goodreads Author), Ian Hunter 3.72 avg rating — 90 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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The Cipher

by Kathe Koja (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 25, 2020 04:19AM

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And the House Lights Dim

by Tim Major (Goodreads Author)

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Laura Mauro said: " Tim Major has had a busy 2019. Between this collection, his well-received novel Snakeskins and upcoming Titan Books release Hope Island, the York native has been hard at work down the word mines this year. And The House Lights Dim is Major’s first co Tim Major has had a busy 2019. Between this collection, his well-received novel Snakeskins and upcoming Titan Books release Hope Island, the York native has been hard at work down the word mines this year. And The House Lights Dim is Major’s first collection, a cluster of well-chosen stories spanning his relatively new career from 2013 to the present day, including 2015 novella Carus and Mitch, which was shortlisted for the This Is Horror awards.

The cover is always a good place to start, and the instantly recognisable stylings of Daniele Serra mark this book out as something well worth your time. It also hints at the sheer strangeness of what lies within. Take opening story ‘O Cul-de-Sac!’, which is narrated by a house. I was almost convinced I wasn’t going to enjoy it, so strange was its premise; a sentient house recounts in real time the comings and goings of its strange occupants, a troubled and increasingly sinister family. What initially seemed like an almost unbearably pretentious premise unfolds into something gripping. I’m not afraid to say I was wrong in my initial estimation: the house is a delightfully unreliable narrator in that its perspective is literally limited to its constituent rooms, and then only one at a time. It’s this commitment to weirdness that makes Major’s collection quite unique. He is not afraid to roll with esoteric concepts like talking houses, word salad prose (as in ‘Read/Write Head’) and a deeply existentialist take on stalking and obsession which recalls Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea (‘All I Can See Are Sad Eyes’).

Within Major’s commitment to weirdness is encompassed a refusal to submit to the confines of genre. Thus, the horror-tinged sci-fi of ‘Finding Waltzer-Three’ – strange, short, eerie – sit comfortably alongside the distinctly folk horror flavours of ‘St Erth’, in which a family camping trip accidentally leads teenage Carmen into a unnerving post-apocalyptic world of dead campsites and feral children. ‘Tunnel Vision’ takes a sharp swerve from the humdrum of school life into shocking violence – never overused or gratuitous, a well-placed glimpse of the truly horrific. Meanwhile, the sinister undertones of ‘The Eyes Have It’ posits a kind of parasitic pandemic, a bloodless zombie apocalypse; brains remain firmly within skulls, but perhaps this is not quite the mercy it may initially seem.

A recurring theme of Major’s stories is that they are often quite short; mostly, this is effective, allowing the central concepts to shine briefly but brightly. Occasionally, it is frustrating, with the sense that the story might have reached full potential (and a more satisfactory conclusion) with another five hundred words or so. ‘The Forge’, however, is a stellar example of a story which is just right. Neither outstaying its welcome nor screeching to a too-abrupt halt, this variation on the ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ mould of memory-work is a cleverly imagined and deeply authentic portrait of how regret, insecurity and the transience of human connection lead us to do desperate things, but also of the plasticity of the human mind – an effective piece of sci-fi, but also a story with real soul.

‘Winter in the Vivarium’ is another wonderfully weird tale. Set in the aftermath of an ice age, the world is divided into ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’: the decadent Domers, who while away their existence within an artificial tropical paradise, and the Outfielders, who live a pared-down life in the snowy wilds. But this binary existence is interrupted with the sudden appearance of ice statues on the periphery of the dome. A unique concept, and well executed; Major’s prose is crisp and sparing, no dead weight or purple blooms, which may appeal to some more than others. Nonetheless, it’s impossible to deny the skill with which Major crafts his miniature story-worlds.

‘Lines of Fire’ feels uncomfortably real in its evocation of bullying and childhood cruelty, the loneliness of being the outsider and the vulnerability which opens us up to waiting predators. It also recollects the desperation of clinging to those who seem friendly (and subsequently realising your mistake) in a way which almost hurt – a sign of its accuracy. ‘By The Numbers’ is a Black Mirror-esque take on human interaction, the reducing of our relationships with one another (and indeed ourselves) to mere numbers in a way which feels worryingly plausible. ‘The House Lights Dim’ is another short sharp shock, a blindfold snapshot of a world in the throes of apocalypse; its brevity is a strength, dropping the reader in and yanking them back out again, just long enough to absorb the sensory deprivation and hostility of the world without showing so much that we start to question the premise. Final tale ‘Carus and Mitch’, a novella, is sad and sweet and deliberately puzzling. Comparisons to The Road and The Hunger Games are not unwarranted, but it evokes also the desperate sadness of Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies: two children in gruelling struggle for survival, far too young to live through something so terrible, and yet resilient and resourceful, a badly needed spark of hope in the darkness. It’s a fitting end for a book which more frequently deals in brief encounters with bizarre worlds.

I have left ‘Eqalussauq’ for last, and that’s deliberate on my part. This story was selected by Ellen Datlow for her annual ‘year’s best’ and it’s easy to see why; it’s by far the strongest story in the collection, alien yet resolutely terrestrial, delving into the murky undersea world of the Greenland shark. Strands of Inuit mythology are woven into a story about obsession and loss. To tell more would be to spoil it, but it’s an absolute treat to read, and a definitive highlight of the collection.

With supplementary story commentary and even a couple of soundtracks recommended by the author, And The House Lights Dim is an immensely worthwhile read. A liquorice allsorts of genre and theme which nonetheless coheres thanks to the enduring prose style and strong sense of voice, a common thread in a disparate collection. If you like your stories strange, eerie and thought-provoking, this one is for you. ...more "

Apr 21, 2020 12:33AM · see review

Laura Mauro is currently reading

Popular Hits of the Showa Era

by Ryū Murakami

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Mar 03, 2019 11:11AM

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Laura Mauro wants to read The Dead House (The Dead House #1) by Dawn Kurtagich (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 13, 2021 05:38AM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Laura Mauro liked Smartie's review of On the shoulders of OTAVA: "A haunting and beautifully written story that kept me flipping pages, especially towards the climax! I absolutely loved the myths and tales featured in it and I must say that I've become quite curious about researching more about the historical backg" Read more of this review »
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Laura Mauro and 2 other people liked Runalong's review of On the shoulders of OTAVA: "Excellent creepy novella that takes history, folklore, atmosphere and gives us a truly memorable story Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl..." Read more of this review »
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Laura Mauro liked a quote “You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you. And you feel like you’ve done something terrible, like robbed a liquor store, or swallowed pills, or shoveled yourself a grave in the dirt, and you’re tired. You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him, and you’re trying to choke down the feeling, and you’re trembling, but he reaches over and he touches you, like a prayer for which no words exist, and you feel your heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you didn’t even have a name for.” Richard Siken
Dec 22, 2020 01:48PM · like · more quotes by Richard Siken
Laura Mauro rated a book it was amazing Oksi by Mari Ahokoivu (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
beautiful, beautiful book, the perfect fusion of fantasy and folklore with stunning illustrations
Nov 30, 2020 09:21AM · like · see review
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Laura Mauro rated a book it was amazing Oksi by Mari Ahokoivu (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
beautiful, beautiful book, the perfect fusion of fantasy and folklore with stunning illustrations
Nov 30, 2020 09:20AM · like · see review
Laura Mauro wants to read The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Laura Mauro rated a book it was amazing Boy Parts by Eliza Clark	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
absolutely fucking phenomenal
Sep 25, 2020 04:21AM · like · see review

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“That’s all love is, when you strip it down to the bare bones. A loaded gun to the temple with someone else’s finger on the trigger.”
― Laura Mauro, Sing Your Sadness Deep

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“You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you. And you feel like you’ve done something terrible, like robbed a liquor store, or swallowed pills, or shoveled yourself a grave in the dirt, and you’re tired. You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him, and you’re trying to choke down the feeling, and you’re trembling, but he reaches over and he touches you, like a prayer for which no words exist, and you feel your heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you didn’t even have a name for.”
― richard siken

tags: love

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