Under Stones

by Bob Franklin

Dip into the world of Bob Franklin‘s fiction at your own risk. The calm surface belies a swift undertow and snags galore. These are not horror stories in the traditional sense; they are more unsettling than that.

Under Stones are uneasy tales, set in familiar surrounds. They are journeys into the human psyche and powerful critiques of contemporary Australian society. Bob Franklin pokes and prods at human fears and foibles, revealing with forensic glee truths that you might prefer were, well, left under stones.


‘What a bruising collection this is ... Franklin turns a coolly amused and beautifully composed eye on the darkest, saddest, oddest and most ordinary corners of the world.‘ - Sonya Hartnett

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

220 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2010

Reviews

[Ruby Tombstone Lives!]

Awesome little find on the discount table of our local indie bookseller. Although they seem to be selling off their freebies. This copy was signed. Last week I bought a book that was an uncorrected bound proof, and "definitely not for sale". Hmm.

Quite a little gem though: Beautiful writing and very,very dark and perceptive. The first story was uncannily accurate about race relations in remote & regional towns. It's about time somebody admitted to this stuff. It's dark, complex and often goes unspoken.

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant collection of stories that leave the reader with a deep sense of unease and an unshakeable sense of wrongness. For those who like their horror a touch more subtle, this collection is a must-read.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it really hard, like a lot of people I speak to, to read Australian-based stories. It's the whole cultural cringe thing going on. Under Stones is very firmly set in Australia - outback, beaches, cities - and uses your own cultural cringe against you. These are dark stories, very often verging on outright horror. The book also looks at race relations in Australia and how badly that's going for us...I noticed that a lot of the other reviews of this book on Goodreads seem to find the stories nasty, or in some cases racist. I can see how one might come to that conclusion, but I found those parts to generally be written as the thoughts of characters who we were not MEANT to be empathising with.

My favourite story is one where the protagonist goes back to England to visit his parents. The man is stuck inside the stuffy, be-doileyed flat complete with decorative plates of Charles and Di and numerous ceramic dogs. Coming from a family with English elders, this story hit pretty close to home for me.

I've been looking for a long time for some good horror, set in Australia...this is about all I've found so far, and I love it.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok so this was definitely a weird one. The first book for actor and comedian Bob Franklin is a book of short stories. Most of the stories are open-ended and quite of few of the endings I found were unsatisfying leaving me hanging out for what happened and a little but confused. I also got the impression that Bob Franklin doesn't like Aboriginals very much after a few derogatory mentions in a couple of the stories. Overall, if you're up for a weird read about stories that quite often have unrealistic or supernatural elements then this is for you otherwise I'd probably suggest you try something else if you're new to the short story world because it might just put you off

[Tal Brott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Australian Dino Buzzati. Creepy, elegant surreal horror stories that have the classic transgression/punishment form. Darkly funny, but don't expect the laughs.

I've been away from Oz for a few years so it's well-observed detail rekindled all kinds of nostalgia bordering on contempt...

One thing I love about this horror is that the settings are very mundane, realist settings, familiar to the point of boredom- and that is precisely why the evil is so sinister. It can happen right under your nose.

Look forward to more stories!

[Maree Kimberley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I didn't love every story in this book there are some great stories and some pretty good ones as well. Overall really enjoyed this collection and Franklin's weird take on life. Definitely one for short story lovers and those who have a thing for stories that are just a little disturbing.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories are amazing and will stay with me for a long time. Overall though, the book is bit too dark and I got a bit sick of hearing about the shadowy person in the background following someone.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of dark little stories. More ghost stories than horror. Not at all what I was expecting from a comedian. Quite enjoyable.