📖 Publication Day Book Review~The Naming of Moths by Tracy Fells

 

Fly on the Wall Press
10 November 2023

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Stories of myths, mothers and monsters.

THE NAMING OF MOTHS features stories of magical realism, myths and legends re-imagined, where all the characters are undergoing transformation or facing a pivotal moment of change in their lives. People and animals interchange their shapes. Story landscapes flit from fairy-tale woods to urban homes. Here love, hope and kindness weave between the realities of man’s endless talent for cruelty.

📖My Review..

Sometimes it’s such a treat to sit back and relax into a set of well written short stories and this debut collection of eighteen short stories certainly captured my imagination with well written tales which cover the central theme of transformation. Cleverly put together I found much to like and spent an enjoyable couple of hours dipping into the book, reading stories which appealed to me by their title and gradually getting drawn into the magical world of this author’s clever imagination. In particular, I enjoyed the eponymous The Naming of Moths, an interesting story with a clever twist, The Frost Hare which had quite an eerie feel to it and Gretel and the Chocolate Wolf which stills roams in my imagination.

Clever, imaginative, and quite compelling, The Naming of Moths, with its interesting blend of magical realism, is the perfect read for an autumn afternoon by the fire.

About the Author

Tracy Fells was the 2017 Regional Winner (Europe and Canada) for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her short fiction has been widely published in print journals and online, including Granta and Brittle Star. She has been shortlisted for the Bridport and Fish Fiction prizes. She is a regular reader for several international story competitions and leads writing workshops on short fiction. Tracy also writes novels and was a finalist in the 2018 Richard & Judy ‘Search for a Bestseller’ competition. Her debut novella-in-flash Hairy On The Inside (published by Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Saboteur and International Rubery Book Awards.

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