The Doll’s Alphabet

I’m always happy to be sent books, and I’m even happier when I’ve got the time to read them. And I’m even happier still when they’re things that I love. And I do love Camilla Grudova’s The Doll’s Alphabet. It’s a remarkable collection. It’s weird and it’s grimy and it feels like it carries the smell of the sea, or dust, on its pages. The stories are like fairy tales – the best sort – the beautifully ugly ones,  the sort that surprise and veer into places you would not have expected; and these stories might not provide you with happy endings. Or middles.

 

The writing is excellent, unnerving, entertaining – hugely imaginative but it’s the stories and the characters that I loved the most. These people feel very real – they live in a world like ours and, though their problems might not be what we’d expect to encounter, they feel very real too; just like their not so perfect, unbalanced relationships. It’s been a while since I’ve found a new collection to love, so I’m very happy to have found this one. The Doll’s Alphabet is published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, and it’s out now. I think you’ll like it.

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nikperring

Nik Perring is a short story writer, author, teacher of writing, and editor from the UK. His stories have been published widely all over the world. His books include the widely celebrated Not So Perfect (Roastbooks 2010), A Book of Beautiful Words; and Beautiful Trees; and he co-wrote Freaks!(TFP/HarperCollins, 2012).

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