You Know It's True

In what is supposedly his final short story collection, J.R. Hamantaschen holds true to form with this twelve stories in some ways, though to a long time reader shows some divergence from what one might have come to expect. The characteristic deep reflection an navel gazing either done by or about his characters, especially those displaying his characteristic depression and anxiety, is as always present. The, for me at least, expected dread and discomfort surrounding relationships which may or may not be functioning well (mostly romantic, but also between friends) is present in most of these stories as well. 'No Hole in a Small World Can Truly Be a Small Hole' is a great example and one of my favorites. One thing that I think is new, or show more newly prominent, maybe do to changes in Hamantashen's own life, is horror surrounding kids. While the Birds/Covid send-up, 'House of Katz' was not my favorite story in the collection, the several times near the end where the protagonist is internally encouraging the dog to tear up and throw the 'cats/katz' around was particularly effective. 'May As Well Blame it on the Heat' mixes the author's frequent themes of relationships either gone/going wrong or the participants feeling like they are (arguably maybe the same thing?) with the loss of an expected child and the desire to have one being the linchpin in that dysfunction. And while 'Grab More Knives' ultimately causes no harm to a little tyke, the threat to a child is ever looming, and the compulsion to protect drives much of the action. Children, of a sort, are the center of the story in 'Its Always Time to Go', which I particularly enjoyed.
I do think the opening story, involving a suicide pact, and the closing story involving a sexual super power, are probably both the most Hamentaschen-y of the included stories particularly due to their protagonists and I think will feel the most comfortable and expected by fans. Post-first story the pacing is a bit slow, but certainly picks up with 'Grab More Knives' and I don't feel it slows down after that.
I know there's been a vocalized desire by Hamentashen to maybe work on something longer, and the final story here is a novella. However, a number of these feel as though they could easily be expanded into something longer, possibly even novel length. show less