What do you think?
Rate this book
This Is (Not About) David Bowie
Every day we dress up in other people's expectations.We button on opinions of who we should be, we instagram impossible ideals, tweet to follow, and comment to judge.But what if we could just let it all go? What if we took off our capes and halos, threw away our uniforms, let go of the future. What if we became who we were always supposed to be?Human.This is (not about) David Bowie. It's about you.This Is (Not About) David Bowie is the debut flash fiction collection from F.J. Morris. Surreal, strange and beautiful it shines a light on the modern day from the view of the outsider. From lost souls, to missing sisters, and dying lovers to superheroes, it shows what it really is to be human in a world that’s always expecting you to be something else.
- GenresShort Stories
110 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2018
5 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
F.J. Morris
2 books7 followersFJ Morris is a proud Bristolian and award-winning writer. Her collection ‘This is (not about) David Bowie’ was published by Retreat West in November 2018 and received a special mention in the Saboteur Awards for Best Short Story Collection in 2019.
She’s been published in numerous publications in the UK and internationally, and shortlisted for a variety of awards. Recently, you can find her stories soaring the skies thanks to a short story vending machine in a Canadian airport, and gracing pillows in a hotel in Indonesia.
You can also find her stories in Bare Fiction, Halo, The Fiction Desk, Popshot, National Flash Fiction Day anthologies, and many more.
She’s been published in numerous publications in the UK and internationally, and shortlisted for a variety of awards. Recently, you can find her stories soaring the skies thanks to a short story vending machine in a Canadian airport, and gracing pillows in a hotel in Indonesia.
You can also find her stories in Bare Fiction, Halo, The Fiction Desk, Popshot, National Flash Fiction Day anthologies, and many more.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 1, 2020
A delightful book, for all outsiders It was a surprise and a treasure.
July 25, 2019
This book takes you through a landscape of human emotions - some common, some unique to the characters. It reads beautifully. I also learnt loads about David Bowie and am beginning to understand why he was so loved.
November 13, 2019
A truly beautiful book dealing with the alienation people that don't quite fit in feel, in a unique and human to the core way.
Most hardcore Bowie fans will get this book, the lucky ones have scars that have healed or they can hide, the unlucky ones cut too deep and left for another star.
Most hardcore Bowie fans will get this book, the lucky ones have scars that have healed or they can hide, the unlucky ones cut too deep and left for another star.
August 24, 2020
This is a galaxy of experimental flash fiction, filled with intriguing inhabitants. Freya Morris’s voice is distinct and compelling.
The collection is split into five parts, each one featuring a quote from Bowie. The quotes act like sparks, igniting the rocket, launching the reader into a series of flash fictions. Sometimes a flash is like a play, a poem, or hybrid, but each one refuses to be pinned down reflecting the collections central themes of identity and the perception of others.
At the sentence level there’s stunning sentence after stunning sentence.
There isn't a single flash that doesn't resonate. I defy you to read 'The last thing my father sang to me' and 'Lifeline' and not feel your heart beat.
The collection is split into five parts, each one featuring a quote from Bowie. The quotes act like sparks, igniting the rocket, launching the reader into a series of flash fictions. Sometimes a flash is like a play, a poem, or hybrid, but each one refuses to be pinned down reflecting the collections central themes of identity and the perception of others.
At the sentence level there’s stunning sentence after stunning sentence.
There isn't a single flash that doesn't resonate. I defy you to read 'The last thing my father sang to me' and 'Lifeline' and not feel your heart beat.
June 6, 2020
I love this remarkable book.
These miniatures on the human condition, love, life, loss, and much more inspire and captivate.
I devoured this book in a sitting upon it's arrival, and revisit frequently to dip in and out of these stories, all of which demand the attention of multiple readings.
This collection of microcosms of life, detailed with care and precision, touch the soul of this reader repeatedly.
I couldn't name a favourite, to do so would be to exclude another. But I can recommend this book, buy it.
I was lucky enough to win this book in a competition. Now I look forward to other work by the author.
July 2, 2021
This was my first book of flash fiction and, I have to be honest, it took a couple of reads before I got it. But, once I did, I really appreciated the various character studies included in the book and the many styles in which they were written. While it's true, this book is not really about David Bowie, it is about finding oneself despite the inclinations to be like everyone else. And, with many nods to the genius of his lyrics and persona, Bowie is still the subtle focal-point. Though it might not be a book for everyone, I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading beyond the box of traditional literature.
May 29, 2019
Undefinable
This is a fantastic collection: thoughtful, provocative, moving, at times wonderfully weird and, just like its inspiration, beautifully undefinable. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
This is a fantastic collection: thoughtful, provocative, moving, at times wonderfully weird and, just like its inspiration, beautifully undefinable. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
November 15, 2018
It's a bit like saying 'Don't think about an elephant' so of course you can't help it, only in this case it's the ghostly presence of the great David Bowie floating through these stories. His songs (their titles), influential fashion-sense and his (almost) staged and unexpected death link surreal, surprising stories rooted in everyday life with a twist of sci-fi. The collection includes very short flash fiction as well as verse and some longer stories. An impressive range.
In the opening story, When David Bowie moved in, a failing relationship is pushed to breaking point after 'pieces of Bowie landed daily'. When a woman feels her heart becoming cold and she starts to grow scales, in Loving the alien, she hopes it's 'a sickness that would go away' but 'It was genetic; an alien gene in my very DNA.' With this metaphor F J Morris examines the impact on a relationship of the death of a baby, and the way the couple each hide their emotions. Other dark or challenging subjects are given this slant approach: child abuse in Blooming Scars and the loss of a sister in Swings and Rocket Ships. In the poem A Song of Space the writer plays on the contrast between Space with a capital 'S', 'arms holding supernovas and planets and milky ways' and the minute space formed by 'the semicolon between now and then.'
Talking of semicolons, I particularly enjoyed the more experimental Slush Puppies that cut punctuation and capital letters altogether, echoing the experimental nature of adolescent sexuality: 'I know she would taste sweet like her candy-floss hair.'
This Is (Not About) David Bowie is a collection that combines a light touch with serious undertones that question what it means to be human. Now to dig out my old Bowie records...
In the opening story, When David Bowie moved in, a failing relationship is pushed to breaking point after 'pieces of Bowie landed daily'. When a woman feels her heart becoming cold and she starts to grow scales, in Loving the alien, she hopes it's 'a sickness that would go away' but 'It was genetic; an alien gene in my very DNA.' With this metaphor F J Morris examines the impact on a relationship of the death of a baby, and the way the couple each hide their emotions. Other dark or challenging subjects are given this slant approach: child abuse in Blooming Scars and the loss of a sister in Swings and Rocket Ships. In the poem A Song of Space the writer plays on the contrast between Space with a capital 'S', 'arms holding supernovas and planets and milky ways' and the minute space formed by 'the semicolon between now and then.'
Talking of semicolons, I particularly enjoyed the more experimental Slush Puppies that cut punctuation and capital letters altogether, echoing the experimental nature of adolescent sexuality: 'I know she would taste sweet like her candy-floss hair.'
This Is (Not About) David Bowie is a collection that combines a light touch with serious undertones that question what it means to be human. Now to dig out my old Bowie records...
November 8, 2024
Muy nostálgico, hace que uno recuerde esos momentos en los que escucharon las canciones de Bowie
unavailable-fi-library
January 2, 2020could not get what this was about from sample
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews