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Double Dutch
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Shape-shifters, doppelgangers, and spirits inhabit the extraordinary worlds depicted in Trunkey’s short stories: a single mother believes her toddler is the reincarnation of a terrorist; Ronald Reagan’s body double falls in love with the first lady; a man grieves for his wife after a bear takes over her body. The collection also includes moving tales grounded in painful an
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Paperback, 280 pages
Published
March 26th 2016
by Astoria
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A collection of short stories that are all wildly imaginative and yet each incredibly familiar and relatable, Double Dutch manages to explore some of the best and worst elements of humanity in just a few short stories. They are all a little strange and quirky - most completely mind boggling at first - and they reflect keen insight into the complexity and nuances within humans.
All of the stories were very well written, and I enjoyed reading each of the stories in this collection as they alternat ...more
All of the stories were very well written, and I enjoyed reading each of the stories in this collection as they alternat ...more

I won this book from goodreads and it is one of my favourites. I fell in love with all the stories, it was unlike any other short story novel where I felt none of the stories were completed. These ones left me thinking, they came together so perfectly at the end. Though it was hard to figure out the plot at the beginning for some of them, the endings made up for it.

This is a pretty good collection of short stories. Semi-surreal and told from interesting perspectives. I wasn't so blown away by the prose itself, but the story ideas were decently original. I picked up the book for the story about Topsy, the elephant that Thomas Edison electrocuted to prove that Alternating Current was dangerous, and it was a sad, weird story, told half from the elephant's perspective, which was unexpected and interesting.
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Apr 29, 2020
Carla (Carla's Book Bits)
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
collections
But for the exception of the first story (which was excellent and really got me in the feels), I thought these short stories were just a bit.. directionless? It's 100% my preference, I just want my short stories to be more of a 'bang' and not a reluctant 'pew.'
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3.5 stars
This may be the first short story collection I got through from cover to cover AND--wait for it--enjoyed it.
Trunkey's stories are strange in that they are not quite magical realism, or I should say not always magical realism. At times they feel like hyper-realism: real life amplified, all our imagined possibilities and suppositions made true. Other times they are quite paranormal. In one we inhabit the mind of an elephant about to be executed by Thomas Edison; in another we follow the ...more
This may be the first short story collection I got through from cover to cover AND--wait for it--enjoyed it.
Trunkey's stories are strange in that they are not quite magical realism, or I should say not always magical realism. At times they feel like hyper-realism: real life amplified, all our imagined possibilities and suppositions made true. Other times they are quite paranormal. In one we inhabit the mind of an elephant about to be executed by Thomas Edison; in another we follow the ...more

This is a lovely collection of stories. Each dips a toe into a fantastical realm, whether it be seeing from the perspective of an elephant, living with your spiritual sisters, naming a boy a miracle-worker and the next rise of Christ, or swapping bodies with a bear. There's no shortage of interesting topics here. "Ursus Arctos Horribilis," "Double Dutch," "Electrocuting the Elephant," and "The Windspir Sisters' Home for the Dying" were the strongest. These are the ones that sucked me in and stay
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2.5/5 - I didn't like nearly half of the stories, and the ones I kind of liked didn't really connect for me. I see potential here, but it felt like the author is still trying to find her voice.
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Double Dutch by Laura Trunkey is a collection of short stories. Some of the stories no doubt will appeal to readers better than others. For those interested in the occult, The Windspur Sisters’ Home for the Dying has a sort of mysterious charm that passes between this world and the other spiritual world. Four of the sisters are alive while two are dead and together the living sisters and spirit sisters help people pass from this world to the next.
I think my favourite short story was the titled o ...more
I think my favourite short story was the titled o ...more

Five stars for originality, but unfortunately, at times, the story details needed to be more developed. Often at the beginning of the story, I couldn't figure out what was being related and there were a couple of stories that I never really figured it out even when I got to the end. Thank you Goodreads First Reads for my free ARC.
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Dec 26, 2015
Samantha Gunning
marked it as to-read
I won this book via Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. I received an advanced readers paperback copy.
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Laura Trunkey’s short fiction collection Double Dutch is forthcoming with House of Anansi in March, 2016. Previous stories have been published in journals and magazines across Canada, and included in the anthology Darwin’s Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow (2010). She is also the author of the children’s novel, The Incredibly Ordinary Danny Chandelier (2008). She lives in Victoria with her
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