In every review of short story collections I’ve read, there isn’t space to review each story. This is
true even for shorter collections of 8-10 stories. But some are so remarkable that each story
deserves to be highlighted, however briefly. The Unfinished World and Other Stories by
Amber Sparks (@ambernoelle) is one such collection. Below I’ve listed the title of each story in
the order it appears in print followed by a brief description meant to entice you into obtaining
and reading this collection.
true even for shorter collections of 8-10 stories. But some are so remarkable that each story
deserves to be highlighted, however briefly. The Unfinished World and Other Stories by
Amber Sparks (@ambernoelle) is one such collection. Below I’ve listed the title of each story in
the order it appears in print followed by a brief description meant to entice you into obtaining
and reading this collection.
“The Janitor in Space” - a working class woman finds perspective cleaning up a space station
orbiting earth.
orbiting earth.
“The Lizzie Borden Jazz Babies” - first of similarly themed stories about odd, precocious children
with eccentric parents.
with eccentric parents.
“The Cemetery for Lost Faces” - Louise and Clarence become a taxidermist and artist like their
parents who are tragically killed, and end up living in a big old manor house that they keep up
by doing taxidermy for a mob boss.
parents who are tragically killed, and end up living in a big old manor house that they keep up
by doing taxidermy for a mob boss.
“The Logic of the Loaded Heart” - John’s painful, impoverished life (and his cycle of bad choices)
told in the style of a college exam.
told in the style of a college exam.
“Thirteen Ways of Destroying a Painting” - a women from the future encounters difficulty
changing the past when she fails numerous attempts to prevent an artist from painting his
masterpiece.
changing the past when she fails numerous attempts to prevent an artist from painting his
masterpiece.
“Lancelot in the Lost Places of the World” - Lancelot is resurrected for corporate greed and
surprisingly manages well on a modern day (con)quest into the jungle.
surprisingly manages well on a modern day (con)quest into the jungle.
“And the World Was Crowded with Things That Meant Love” - poignant, long distance love affair
between a sculptor and a wood carver. Think art-pals instead of pen-pals.
between a sculptor and a wood carver. Think art-pals instead of pen-pals.
“Birds with Teeth” - enthralling story about warring paleontologists during the bone rush of the
late 19th century.
late 19th century.
“For These Humans Who Cannot Fly” - told from the point of view of the inventor of German
waiting mortuaries whose wife killed herself after he institutionalized her.
waiting mortuaries whose wife killed herself after he institutionalized her.
“Take Your Daughter to the Slaughter” - coming of age story for girls who become werewolf
hunters.
hunters.
“We Were Holy Once” - a family of grifters travel from town to town to con people out of money,
eventually murdering the wealthiest bachelor for his inheritance before moving on.
eventually murdering the wealthiest bachelor for his inheritance before moving on.
“La Belle de Nuit, La Belle de Jour” - in this fractured fairy tale a cursed princess--whose brothers
are turned to swans--lives out in the wilderness weaving shirts to bring them back until she’s
‘rescued.’ There are even more interesting details I won’t spoil for you.
are turned to swans--lives out in the wilderness weaving shirts to bring them back until she’s
‘rescued.’ There are even more interesting details I won’t spoil for you.
“The Men and Women Like Him” - another time travel story, where a sort of janitor cleans up
time travelers’ messes when they go back to save lives. He empathizes by way of a great aunt
murdered during the Holocaust.
time travelers’ messes when they go back to save lives. He empathizes by way of a great aunt
murdered during the Holocaust.
“Things You Should Know About Cassandra Dee” - a present day Cassandra ignores her own sight
in order to look and feel beautiful, even though it leads to her own death.
in order to look and feel beautiful, even though it leads to her own death.
“The Fires of Western Heaven” - tableaux of images connected with war and its inevitable
devastation.
devastation.
“The Process of Human Decay” - what it says on the tin, in sumptuous prose.
“The Fever Librarian” - a librarian of fevers succumbs to it in more ways than one.
“The Unfinished World” - novella chronicling the lives of Set and Inge, two post-WWI kids that
grow up to be extraordinary people and eventually find one another. Their idiosyncratic families
are central to the two main characters.
grow up to be extraordinary people and eventually find one another. Their idiosyncratic families
are central to the two main characters.
“The Sleepers” - story as Rorschach inkblot. I could tell you what I read, but you will read
something completely different.
something completely different.
Each of these stories is founded in a narrative idea powerful enough to sustain a novel. The
incredible merit of Sparks’s prose is that she realizes the full potential of these ideas in the short
story form. One of my personal favorites, “Birds with Teeth,” constructs the rivalry meticulously
through explorations of mentorship, ambition, competition, love, and betrayal. Each line is rich
with historical details, characterizations, and insights into the limits of human knowledge and the
breadth of human frailty. Likewise, I learned and ached so much from “For These Humans Who
Cannot Fly” in less than a dozen pages that I was sure it must have been longer than it was. The
lazy reviewer will often lament, “this should be a novel!” but overlooks that the short story form
can do more justice to a narrative than a sprawling, engorged book. Like a poem, the care crafting
each sentence and choice of word in a short story creates a singular experience that resonates
profoundly in its immediacy. With her originality, her voice, and her craft, Sparks has managed a
career in the short story to rival the greatest masters of the form: Katherine Anne Porter,
Flannery O’Connor, Joy Williams, and Jorge Luis Borges. Read and rejoice.
incredible merit of Sparks’s prose is that she realizes the full potential of these ideas in the short
story form. One of my personal favorites, “Birds with Teeth,” constructs the rivalry meticulously
through explorations of mentorship, ambition, competition, love, and betrayal. Each line is rich
with historical details, characterizations, and insights into the limits of human knowledge and the
breadth of human frailty. Likewise, I learned and ached so much from “For These Humans Who
Cannot Fly” in less than a dozen pages that I was sure it must have been longer than it was. The
lazy reviewer will often lament, “this should be a novel!” but overlooks that the short story form
can do more justice to a narrative than a sprawling, engorged book. Like a poem, the care crafting
each sentence and choice of word in a short story creates a singular experience that resonates
profoundly in its immediacy. With her originality, her voice, and her craft, Sparks has managed a
career in the short story to rival the greatest masters of the form: Katherine Anne Porter,
Flannery O’Connor, Joy Williams, and Jorge Luis Borges. Read and rejoice.
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