Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Welsh writer Morris (We Don't Know What We're Doing) puts a singular spin on familiar themes such as parental abandonment and the search for meaning in this staggering collection. In "Wales," the crushing and sharply funny opener, superstitious 10-year-old Gareth attends a soccer match between Wales and Northern Ireland with his deadbeat dad, who left him and his mom three months earlier. Gareth clings to the belief that if Wales wins the game, he and his mom will never see the repo man again. The long and surprisingly moving "Aberkarid" centers on a family of male seahorses whose lovesick father promises them that their absent mother will one day return. The narrator, one of the sons, rejects their uncle Nol's advice to live like he does, mating with as many "fillies" as possible and never giving a thought to the thousands of seahorses he's birthed. Later stories explore young men's passivity and resentments, as in "Little Wizard," about a short fellow who's convinced himself he's a victim of "unconscious bias" at his low-paying office job. In "Passenger," a Dubliner on vacation in Croatia with his Irish girlfriend defers to her and struggles with sharing about his impoverished background in the Welsh town of Caerphilly. The depressed narrator of "Birthday Teeth," also from Caerphilly, identifies as a vampire and hopes to find happiness by having his teeth filed into fangs. No matter how abject the characters, their hope feels well earned thanks to Morris's impressive ability to plumb their emotional depths. This is unforgettable. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A moving testament to human connection in the modern age. The characters in Welsh author Morris' short stories are desperate for control. He paints a world that is ambivalent at best, actively cruel at worst. In "Little Wizard," the ironically nicknamed Big Mike rails against his diminutive stature, lashing out at friends, co-workers, roommates, and prospective Tinder dates because no one can seem to look past the fact that he's 5-foot-3. He, like Morris' other protagonists, begs for a chance, for someone to see him. He finally works up the courage to ask his best friend and crush, Rhian, out on a date, and the grand reveal showcases Morris' true intention with the tale. Elsewhere, in "Birthday Teeth," Glyn is a moderator on a forum for vampire fanatics. He balances taking care of his depressed mother with his own macabre outlook on the world, all the while obsessively sharing details of a recently ended relationship, one that involved a staggering betrayal. Glyn has convinced himself he can solve his problems by paying for a procedure to get his teeth sharpened; if only he had this one thing, everything else would turn out all right. It's the essential theme of this story collection--what are the ways we try to control the uncontrollable? Life's randomness brings chaos and tragedy. Is there an escape? In "Wales," Gareth goes to a soccer match with his father, whom he hasn't seen in three months. If Wales wins, "everything will turn out okay," he assures himself. "His mother will find a wad of cash stuffed in the walls and they won't need to move out." The throughline here is an unrelenting empathy, whether Morris is writing about a family of seahorses or a couple wrestling through disconnect on what was supposed to be a restful vacation. Everyone, every living thing, matters. Trauma, rage, depression, and heartbreak mingle with dashes of optimism and excitement. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
