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There’s something about a collection of short stories that makes you read the entire book in one sitting. Is it because the stories are short, and it feels as though you’ve only been reading for a moment? Or is it because, even though the stories are short, they’re so full of action and information that you feel as though you’ve been reading that particular escapade for hours instead of around 15 minutes? I don’t know, although it could be a combination of the two. Either way, Dallas Woodburn’s latest collection of short stories How to Make Paper When the World is Ending is a magnificent compendium of slightly spooky stories that will chill you, delight you and amuse you.
Not all of the stories in this collection are scary; some are funny and some are more reflective. But what they all have in common are that they are all thought provoking. There’s a story which allows you to decide if the story is a romance or a horror story; you decide on the narrative and how the characters react to certain situation. You make up your own mind about the outcome of the story, and what it means. It’s told as if you’re telling it around a camp fire, building tension deliciously until the end. One story is a commentary about the future of our planet; about how the world will be in a not too distant future. Polar bears and penguins have become extinct, global warming has become so severe that mid-September is as hot as July. Another is a take on pre-teen friendships, the desperation to be included, to be loved; to not be on the fringes, looking in.
I used to love ghost stories, when I was growing up. It’s only as an adult that I’ve moved away from the genre and started reading fantasy books. But, this collection of beautifully written, immersive and different-in-their-own-way spine shivering moments short stories, has made me want to dive straight back in to the genre. If you want to be slightly spooked, if you want to read something that will worm it’s way into your sub-conscious and have you pondering it’s meaning for days to come; but don’t have much time to read a novel of an epic length, the How to Make Paper When the World is Ending is the collection for you.
S. A.
This book was reviewed as part of the Reedsy Discovery Reviewer Program., You can read the original review here.
You can buy How to Make Paper When the World is Ending here.