Breakable Things by Cassandra Khaw

I would like to thank Michael from Undertow Publications for an advance copy of this collection in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Undertow Publications

Published – Out Now

Price – £12.99 paperback £6.99 Kindle eBook

Cassandra Khaw's dynamic and vibrant debut collection, Breakable Things, explores the fragile and nebulous bonds that weave love and grief into our existence. This exquisite and cutting collection of stories showcases a bloody fusion of horrors from cosmic to psychological to body traumas.

Horror is often about stripping people down; yes, often this is physical in terms of flesh and bone being pulled away but more generally horror explores what we are whereas fantasy and science fiction is often more about who we could become. Horror reveals our inner desires, hates, and fears from which all our monsters and myths across the world really come from. As the podcast Pseudopod reminds us just before it creeps us out with an each episode the story is true because horror is a real emption the medium instils in us. Not easy to do but when it hits you in the heart then you realise the power of when it is delivered perfectly. I am very pleased to say Cassandra Khan’s new short fiction collection Breakable Things is a dark joy to read that combined delicious prose with that element of honesty in the tales which means you can’t stop reading or looking away from the page until the end regardless of what is happening in front of you. I absolutely loved it.

What Khaw brings to the mix is the ability to give each tale a unique voice be that the narrator, victim or what would often be perceived as a monster. The use of language is a delight the first story of which proves we are in safe hands ‘Don’t Turn On the Lights’ is like watching a skilled singer taking on an overly song and turning it into magic and something new. We get a classic urban myth and Khaw plays with the format; extends it and gives us alternative versions while even casts a spotlight on the morality of the audience enjoying the tale. It’s a stunning opening and should quickly convince you to read the rest

We move into the older style of folk tale such as ‘A Leash of Foxes, Their Stories Like Barter’ of Mr and Mrs Fox’s marriage where a jealous suitor wishes to find out Mr Fox’s secret and wishes he soon hadn’t. It feels very traditional but under the fairy tale are all the sharp edges that you’re not careful will cut you. The excellent ‘And In Our Daughter, We Find A Voice’ we get a disturbing and yet very accurate sounding version of the Little Mermaid; captured by her prince, watching all her sisters murdered and eaten and perhaps a pregnancy will be the only way out. It is a dark powerful tale of being a prisoner and yet escape step by step is plotted to a deliciously just ending. In ‘How Selkies Are Made’ we get a Scottish tale of a woman who marries the love of her life but finds he only wanted her title and just a Selkie on her isle will offer her away out. In this tale the monsters are our friends and only escape. I especially liked ‘Goddess, Worm’ which deals with the gods of the Celestial Court and their mistreatment of a silkworm who think offering godhood will make all their crimes removed; the choice made reminds us everyone needs some justice and if none can be found we have to do it ourselves. The standout tale but poetical tale is ‘A Secret of Devils’ where the classic line ‘The devil came to Georgia’ leads to a tale of temptation and yet also stunning hope and generosity that may make us think that we can do better.

In many of the tales Khaw mixes old myths with modern life. In ‘Recite Her Names of Pain’ we have sirens being asked for the truth by the wealthy hipsters who realllly don’t know what they’re really asking for and from whom. While in ‘Kiss, don’t tell’ a monster explores the life of a lover’s girlfriend and raises the likelihood this tale could or could not end very badly but the horror comes from knowing someone very powerful is watching you just a little out of your vision or while you sleep. In the strange and eerie ‘A Priest of Vast and Distant Places’ Khaw conjures up a world where planes are all gods seeking eternal travellers to worship them and one is trying to attract a new ‘priest’ but this tale mixes the urge to travel with the desire to keep close to your loved ones. While not a tale of horror I loved the descriptions and ideas of how this secret religion in plain sight actually worked and will be familiar to any air travellers. I really loved ‘An Ocean of Eyes’ where a rude and disturbing male traveller decides to overload his leery personality on a bus traveller but she herself as does their strange town holds secrets. The finale is visceral, poetical, and deeply satisfying.

There are tales of loss and love. From the very short powerful few paragraphs of ‘For The Things We Never Said’ where a bloody automation comes to life but for an unexpected purpose. The fantastic ‘Some Breakable Things’ starts with the image of our main character’s father being flayed alive; we soon realise this was simply an autopsy; but the central plot is of an adult haunted by the steadily disturbing ghost of their father following them everywhere– Khaw delicately explores broken families, lost chances to talk and grief into a tale where even in horror perhaps some peace can be found in the dark.

Each story in this stunning collection offers language crafted to make each tale soar. The scenes may be bloody and horrific yet in some tales the language describing then is respectful and admiring. We can get words used as [percussion to hammer home accusations or words mixed as a sonnet to the better parts of human nature. Playful, tragic, and thoughtful this is a collection definitely worth getting hold of and strongly recommended and always reminds us life is fragile but really something we should never take for granted. Go get it!