“In that one night, we shook off all that made us human and miserable: the chains of hatred, envy, anger, argument, all that tastes untrue. We cast our hierarchies born of inequity and greed; shook off the lose-lose binary of palace or hovel, greed or starvation, worthy or unworthy.”
Your Sons and Your Daughters are Beyond, by Rosie Garland, is a collection of fabulous short stories that explore with scalpel sharp precision the horrors of the human condition. Observations are often made through the lens of magical realism, offering the reader much to probe and ponder. There is an uncanny edge to many of the tales, bringing to the fore how cruel and power hungry those who would claim to offer love can be.
The stories are mostly very short but nonetheless pack a powerful punch. Some are more opaque than others. However, most become all too clear as the disturbing truth of what is being explored is revealed. Scenarios are recognisable but never preachy; a far stronger message is delivered through showing the ongoing and lasting impacts of behaviours.
The ordering of the stories through recurring themes works well. Those who display difference are required to learn to tamp such behaviour down, to hide what they are for their own safety or to gain acceptance in family and society. Desire to escape such constraints is a subject dealt with well, how the suppressed may blossom when they get away and find their tribe. Within families there are: brutal fathers and husbands, wives and mothers, those suffocated by demands to submit and obey.
Climbing Wall is a brilliant evocation of parasitic ‘friends’. There are stories within the stories. Eye for an Eye is a wonderfully imaginative tale.
In a collection of so many tales a reader may expect to find weaker stories amidst the strong. This is not the case here. While style and content varies all are engaging and worth the time needed to consider carefully. There are layers to unpeel, intricacy but never undue complexity. The language used entertains and conveys meaning without resorting to thesaurus.
An impressive and always satisfying collection of short fiction, each and every entry worthy of its place. I will be very interested to find out what this author does next. Highly recommended.
Your Sons and Your Daughters are Beyond is published by Fly on the Wall Press
