Laissez Faire

by Morgan Bell

The follow up to Sniggerless Boundulations, this collection of fifteen stories continues the journey into short weird fiction. With all the markers of contemporary Australia - beer, cigarettes, footy on TV - and some more exotic locations, a world of excruciating awkwardness and overthinking comes alive. A stranger in the dark; A dating ritual with goldfish and kumquats; A tramp on the outskirts of the eco-dales; The plague of Yellow Death; A fantastic machine in the junk room of a hospital; Squids, pelicans, knives, and scars, make up these deliciously surreal flashes of gritty speculation.

Contains the

1.Sit Down
2.No Small Thing
3.The Glass of Water
4.Sharpening The Knives
5.Saxon Vance
6.Don’t Pay The Ferryman
7.The Gamekeeper
8.The Chaperone
9.Juniper Bean
10.The Permanence of Ceramics
11.Dark Field Illumination
12.Cassilda Ambrose
13.The Switch
14.A Deer In The Shunting Yard
15.The Lost Art of Transportation
Bonus track - Yawning Bill of Fare

68 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 8, 2017

About the author

Morgan Bell is a Australian author of short fiction and visual poetry. Her books include Sniggerless Boundulations, Laissez Faire, and Intersection Control: Collected Works.

She is a qualified technical writer, creative writing teacher, and editor of Sproutlings: A Compendium of Little Fictions. Her first chapbook of visual poetry Idiomatic, For The People was released in 2019. In 2021, Flying Islands published her visual poetry collection Pretend I Don’t Exist.

Morgan enjoys the visual storytelling of film and TV, which is of course a euphamism for being a couch-potato and movie trivia buff.

Morgan currently resides in Port Stephens NSW with her two cats, Romilly and Sansa, and her mother.

Morgan Bell was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1981.

Reviews

[Amy Proebstel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-Written & Thought-Provoking

Laissez Faire is appropriately named as it seems to follow a myriad of different ideas flitting through the mind of the author. These short stories are well-written and thought-provoking. Some are entirely too short, which left me wanting more. I’d be interested to know if any of these shorts will be made into full-length novels or even novellas.

[M.G. Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing collection of short stories that will have you thinking. Some stories I was captivated by, others left me wanting more. An enjoyable and interesting read overall.

[M.R. Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laissez Faire is Morgan Bell's second collection of short stories and micro fiction. I found this book to be engaging and thoroughly entertaining. I'm yet to figure out how Morgan can create such memorable and developed characters in so few words. The collection contains 15 shorts. It was while I was reading Cassilda Ambrose - the 12th short - that I realised how much the stories reminded me of the anthology tv series so popular today. Cassilda Ambrose and The Deer in the Shunting Yard, in particular, were favourites of mine and I could easily see both being converted to a short movie or TV episode.

Laissez Faire is a quick read but don't let that confuse you. The stories are visually compelling and contain depth and development that I've seen long-form writing unable to achieve. If you are after a quick, entertaining and thought-provoking read go for either of Morgan Bell's stand-alone collections.

[Beverley Streater · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating read! Morgan has compiled a series of vignettes that range from fantastical, futuristic, dystopian essays ('A Deer in the shunting Yard') to dark fables ('Cassilda Ambrose', 'The Switch') . The stories have intrigue, featuring dubious characters behaving in unexpected and sometimes confronting ways. Her writing features some great description, such as her apt metaphor for kittens, 'They were energetic little mung bean sprouts'. She has a keen eye for detail, 'The haze of lime green boundary lights found fractures in the [carpark] asphalt'. Morgan unabashedly uses Australianisms including references to Tooheys New, tinnies, Commodore wagons, buffalo lawn.

I was intrigued by the variety of stories and characters. I did hope for some links between the vignettes and hope that Morgan's future work re-introduces some of these personalities.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up Ms Bell's Laissez Faire, anthology yes but the range of different types of stories was staggering. I enjoyed reading this book, there were some stories like love over others, like the Switch (a very interesting, had to read twice good), Sit Down (grand opening), No Small Thing (wow, dark) and The Lost Art of Transportation (did not see that story coming).

This anthology shows creativity, intelligence, imagination and the passion for writing them. Hats off to Ms Bell's marvellous book. If you like flash fiction and short reads that are not the norm, this book is for you.

[Rafa Monaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful anthology collection or micro and short fiction that shows you what can be done with a small amount of words. A deeply thoughtful book, appropriately titled, with the stories arranged in a fantastic order. A Deer in the Shunting Yard, The Lost Art of Transportation and Cassilda Ambrose are the standout stories.

[D.D. Scarlet · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great collection of short stories! I personally had a preference for those that resembled dark fairy-tales. My very favourite was Juniper Bean and my next standout was Cassilda Ambrose (which was I guess a bit of a horror). However, it was also great to read stories which were truly ocker!

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are not my usual reading preference, but I still found myself intrigued enough to continue reading until I had finished them. I cannot fault the imagination of the author, she has an amazing gift of weaving a web of intrigue in such a short space

[A.J. Mouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories that were enjoyed immensely. Nothing like well-written stuff and nonsense to sink the brain into and tune out. Couldn't pick a favourite, maybe once I re-read, enjoyed them all and appreciated their short snappy delivery.

[Kathryn Berryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laissez Faire is my first dip into 'short weird fiction.' Some great descriptive writing and surrealistic plot-lines, Morgan Bell's style kept me captivated and wanting more! A Deer in the Shunting Yard was the stand out for me. An enjoyable read.

[Bernadette Rowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting collection of short stories with dark themes. I don't usually read short stories but I wanted to know more about all the characters introduced in these pages. They really got under my skin. I would read more from Morgan Bell

[KStar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Varying collection of short stories varying across multiple genres and affecting many different emotions with each one, some of them i could read more of and remain curious as to what would happen next, and some of them were strangely perfect. Something for everyone with enough information to have you seeming to be dragged though and forced to turn the page in each short story in order to find out what happens next, and curious to see what the next one will reveal.