FP Staff List: Dark Short Stories + BLOOD FEAST
This week we’re celebrating the release of Malika Moustadraf’s Blood Feast, translated by Alice Guthrie.
Blood Feast is the complete collection of Moustadraf’s published short fiction: haunting, visceral stories by a master of the genre. Moustadraf takes an unflinching look at the gendered body, social class, illness, double standards, and desire, as lived by a diverse cast of characters. In honor of her incredible collection, we’ve gathered a list of writers who are masters of the dark short story. From terrifying teen daughters to unwanted houseguests, the characters in these stories are going to haunt you… we guarantee it!
Malika Moustadraf
Must-read: Blood Feast translated by Alice Guthrie (Feminist Press)
“Blood Feast is a cult classic by Morocco’s foremost writer of life on the margins.”—The FP team
Izumi Suzuki
Must-read: Terminal Boredom, translated by Polly Barton, Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph, Aiko Masubuchi, and Helen O’Horan (Verso)
“Originally written in the 1970s and 80s, these bleak stories are by turns darkly humorous, prescient, and unsettling.”—Isla
Photo: Nobuyoshi Araki
María Fernanda Ampuero
Must-read: Cockfight (Feminist Press)
“In lucid and compelling prose, Ampuero sheds light on the hidden aspects of the home: the grotesque realities of family, coming of age, religion, and class struggle.”—Lucia
Photo: Isabel Wagemann
Leonora Carrington
Must-read: The Complete Stories (Dorothy)
“Surreal, absurd, macabre, and funny, Carrington is a master of the short form and is unafraid of the dark, twisted places her imagination takes her.”—Nick
Photo: Kati Horna
Kelly Link
Must-read: Get in Trouble: Stories (Penguin Random House)
“In this delightfully dark collection, Link puts her spin on classic supernatural elements with vivid prose and sharp humor.”—Vanessa
Photo: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Alice Sola Kim
Must-read: “Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying” in Go Home! (Feminist Press)
“Spellbinding and visceral, Kim's experimental prose explores the dark underbellies of family and female friendship.” —Nadine
“It's absolutely worth tracking down every single thing Kim has published. Each story is a multilayered gem that hits like a silent punch to the gut, yet still manages to make you laugh out loud. If I had to sum up Kim's writing with one line, I'd say: she tells the truth.” —Jisu
Photo: Jane Bruce
Samanta Schweblin
Must-read: Mouthful of Birds translated by Megan McDowell (Riverhead)
“Schweblin's stories are understated and uncanny, like those weird dreams where everything makes sense until you wake up.”—Rachel
Photo: Alamy
Carmen Maria Machado
Must-read: Her Body and Other Parties (Graywolf)
“I recommend everything Machado has written, but Her Body and Other Parties is the perfect place to start! This book is both spooky and sexy at the same time—an excellent combination.”—Lauren
Photo: Art Streiber