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We Are Still Here: Stories & A Novella
WE ARE STILL HERE contains an eclectic mix of stories and fairy tales, in which readers encounter ghosts, UPS drivers, Lizzie Borden, and goblins. In the title story, a family visiting an amusement park flees after a fatal roller coaster accident, only to find the real horror is on the chairlifts. In “The People Who Live in the Sears,” people who find the world too painful to live in make new lives in their local Sears department store. In “The Ghosts of St. Louis,” two teenagers living in a futuristic North America attempt to find their place in a dying world. Battling domestic intruders, climate change and the dark places within themselves, the characters in these stories are holding on for dear life to their homes, their sanity, and the strange landscapes of space, time, and memory they inhabit.
237 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 1, 2019
Thanks to Conium Press via LibraryThing for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is a collection of short stories and a novella by Emily Koon. If you like to read weird, gruesome, creepy, and surreal stories, this is the book for you! There is dark humor among the fantasies and I must congratulate the author on her very unusual ideas. Her writing is good, the pacing of the stories is fine, but I just kept wondering how unreal the next story would be, even though they are supposed to be related to real life.
I picked the title story, We are Still Here, as my favorite. It's about a family who goes to an amusement park, Ghost Village, instead of Disney World, where the wife/mother wanted to go. The worst possible thing happens and I don't want to spoil it for you, but don't go to Ghost Village!
The Novella, entitled Dark Paradise, features Lizzie Borden telling about her life. It has various endings and you can make choices as you read it. Sounds odd and it was for me although other reviewers liked it.
This is a collection of short stories and a novella by Emily Koon. If you like to read weird, gruesome, creepy, and surreal stories, this is the book for you! There is dark humor among the fantasies and I must congratulate the author on her very unusual ideas. Her writing is good, the pacing of the stories is fine, but I just kept wondering how unreal the next story would be, even though they are supposed to be related to real life.
I picked the title story, We are Still Here, as my favorite. It's about a family who goes to an amusement park, Ghost Village, instead of Disney World, where the wife/mother wanted to go. The worst possible thing happens and I don't want to spoil it for you, but don't go to Ghost Village!
The Novella, entitled Dark Paradise, features Lizzie Borden telling about her life. It has various endings and you can make choices as you read it. Sounds odd and it was for me although other reviewers liked it.
October 6, 2019
This is a nifty little collection, of ghost and horror stories, mixed in with a fairy tale or two. The novella is a unique take on the continuing fascination with Lizzie Borden, offering an experimental structure, that I admired. A solid effort.
June 30, 2019
Such an interesting collection of short stories! Emily Koon has put together stories that catch the reader by surprise- ghosts, murder, apocalyptic scenarios. The story named in the title of this collection is a favorite. “We Are Still Here” is a spooky tale of a family that never leaves an amusement park. I also found Koon’s take on the Litzy Borden story in the Novella written with a unique structure. #arc #librarything #earlyreviewer #coniumpress #smallpress
June 21, 2019
I received an ARC of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer's program.
Emily Koon's short story collection is perfect for fans of smart, dark humor. Good writing and extraordinary ideas make this a pleasure to read. Here are a few of the 13 short stories:
In "The People Who Live in the Sears", a group of folks choose an easier life by taking up residence in a department store.
"The Ghosts of St. Louis" features a couple of kids in a futuristic setting with full-blown climate collapse, ruined air, and St. Louis under water.
"Butterbean" is truly a very weird story - you'll have to read it for yourself.
The title story "We Are Still Here" is one of the best - it tells about a family who goes to an amusement park called Ghost Village instead of Disney World. Oops, bad choice.
"Myrtle" is a very funny story about a budding relationship with an ogre in the park.
There is also one 'choose your own' novella in this collection featuring Lizzie Borden ("... it was a hatchet, not an axe...")
I look forward to reading more of this writer in the future. Her strange little worlds are well worth exploring. Gruesome, hilarious, like life.
Emily Koon's short story collection is perfect for fans of smart, dark humor. Good writing and extraordinary ideas make this a pleasure to read. Here are a few of the 13 short stories:
In "The People Who Live in the Sears", a group of folks choose an easier life by taking up residence in a department store.
"The Ghosts of St. Louis" features a couple of kids in a futuristic setting with full-blown climate collapse, ruined air, and St. Louis under water.
"Butterbean" is truly a very weird story - you'll have to read it for yourself.
The title story "We Are Still Here" is one of the best - it tells about a family who goes to an amusement park called Ghost Village instead of Disney World. Oops, bad choice.
"Myrtle" is a very funny story about a budding relationship with an ogre in the park.
There is also one 'choose your own' novella in this collection featuring Lizzie Borden ("... it was a hatchet, not an axe...")
I look forward to reading more of this writer in the future. Her strange little worlds are well worth exploring. Gruesome, hilarious, like life.
July 18, 2021
An excellent little collection of very weird short stories and a longer novella. The first story is literally about the people who live in Sears, a weird apocalyptic story where people sort of give up on life and move into Sears. In a Dark Wood, an interesting twist on fairy tale tropes. And the title story that is a very effective ghost story that I wasn't expecting.
From We Are Still Here (story) : When he was a college student he wanted to be a disc jockey, not an insurance adjuster. He wanted to march in a political demonstration that in twenty years people would see as a historical linchpin, bridging an era of inequality with something better. Flo (his car) understood this. Mrs. Johnson (his wife) had wanted to go to Disney World. There was a hotel inside the park with a pool shaped like Mickey Mouse's head you could lay beside and sip cocktails like Raquel Flipping Welch, but she got the Daniel boon Motor Lodge, who's pool was empty due to a fungal contamination"
A woman in a prairie dress was giving a milking demonstration in one of the barns, pulling at a cow's rubbery pink teats while onlookers gaped. "Haven't these people ever seen a teat before?" Mrs Johnson asked the woman beside her. The woman stepped away..."
From We Are Still Here (story) : When he was a college student he wanted to be a disc jockey, not an insurance adjuster. He wanted to march in a political demonstration that in twenty years people would see as a historical linchpin, bridging an era of inequality with something better. Flo (his car) understood this. Mrs. Johnson (his wife) had wanted to go to Disney World. There was a hotel inside the park with a pool shaped like Mickey Mouse's head you could lay beside and sip cocktails like Raquel Flipping Welch, but she got the Daniel boon Motor Lodge, who's pool was empty due to a fungal contamination"
A woman in a prairie dress was giving a milking demonstration in one of the barns, pulling at a cow's rubbery pink teats while onlookers gaped. "Haven't these people ever seen a teat before?" Mrs Johnson asked the woman beside her. The woman stepped away..."
January 18, 2020
There are some real gems in this collection of short stories with one novella (which I would actually consider a longer short story).
These stories are odd. A little weird, a little touch of science fiction, a space-time loop, colonizers in space, and some weird takes off of fairy tales. A choose-your-own-adventure sort about Lizzie Borden.
My favorites were The Ghosts of St Louis, We Are Still Here, and Theta Orionis. Creepiest goes to United Parcel Service. But honestly, they are all good in some sort of weird way. Each one surprised me somehow.
I don't think this collection got enough attention. Did it get any attention? How am I not familiar with this author? I', not usually a fan of short stories, but I love ones like this!
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Thank you to Conium Press and LibraryThing for providing me with a copy of this book.
These stories are odd. A little weird, a little touch of science fiction, a space-time loop, colonizers in space, and some weird takes off of fairy tales. A choose-your-own-adventure sort about Lizzie Borden.
My favorites were The Ghosts of St Louis, We Are Still Here, and Theta Orionis. Creepiest goes to United Parcel Service. But honestly, they are all good in some sort of weird way. Each one surprised me somehow.
I don't think this collection got enough attention. Did it get any attention? How am I not familiar with this author? I', not usually a fan of short stories, but I love ones like this!
----
Thank you to Conium Press and LibraryThing for providing me with a copy of this book.
July 11, 2019
These short stories are interesting. Well written and they make you think. I really liked "We Are Still Here", it was probably my favorite.
The novella was good also. I didn't make numerous choices in reading it, stayed with my initial choices and finished it from there.
Emily Koon is going to be someone to watch and read in the future.
The novella was good also. I didn't make numerous choices in reading it, stayed with my initial choices and finished it from there.
Emily Koon is going to be someone to watch and read in the future.
July 12, 2019
When I purchased this collection of short stories (and one novella), I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. My favorite story was "Butterbean" about a self aware baby that mysteriously materializes on a woman's mantle. Definitely give this book a try.
August 25, 2019
It's not often that you read a book by someone you personally know. I can hear Koon's voice in my ear. Holy turkey titties.
"A weird name for someone who wants to eat you"
"...a black widow who hid inside until she became a brown recluse."
"Hopeful in the worst possible way."
"A weird name for someone who wants to eat you"
"...a black widow who hid inside until she became a brown recluse."
"Hopeful in the worst possible way."
July 13, 2019
A strong collection of weird stories by Emily Koon. The novella features an experimental structure that somehow allows for deeper emotional resonance. An excellent Conium Press project.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews