This is my review for Amazon:
These stories are not easy to read; they do not have happy endings and they will not give you a warm fuzzy feeling (well ... I suppose they could give some people a warm fuzzy feeling, if this type of subject matter is inclined to inspire such a feeling ...). If you happen to be a fan of Joyce Carol Oates' or Patricia Highsmith's short stories, you will most likely like Amber Lenore Winckler's stories because of the different types of grotesqueries she lays forth in each story. My only complaint is that there weren't more stories in this collection.
As for the stories themselves: they are all different and give the reader a refreshing new voice with each story. "The Distribution of Fluids" uses a cold, clinical, angry tone as Clara does her professional best with a body who deserves the unprofessional worst while remembering what her mother had told her about the abuses this woman inflicted upon her (the mother) and her siblings. "The Cat Lady" has a paranoid, dirty feel to it as the old woman sinks deeper and deeper into her mental illness (I personally wasn't too fond of the alien bit, but I felt A. L. W. wrote about this mental illness very well - in a not-over-the-top, factual manner). "The Blood (la sangre)" reads like the worst possible outcome for childhood trauma; Jessie inflicts depravities (usually consentual but often times coerced) upon younger men in a way to come to terms with what many would call an unusual addiction. This addiction was inspired by the childhood trauma and would eventually lead to his greatest griefs. I loved "Waste of Skin" ... I found it to be suspenseful and gripping because I had no clue what was going on and I couldn't wait to find out (I at first thought it was going to be "Saw" like in nature, and got a giggle when one of the trapped characters thought the same thing. It's nothing like any of the "Saw" movies). I can't write anymore without giving something away. "Fat" was difficult to read because it mostly colloquially written, but the premise was very interesting and disturbing.
I wouldn't call these horror stories, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who was squeamish. I hope Amber Lenore Winckler has another collection in the works ... hopefully she won't have as much trouble finding a publisher for the next one. If this happens to be your first A. L. W. experience, don't forget about her novels - "The Final Bath" and "Into the Hands of Strangers" :-)
These stories are not easy to read; they do not have happy endings and they will not give you a warm fuzzy feeling (well ... I suppose they could give some people a warm fuzzy feeling, if this type of subject matter is inclined to inspire such a feeling ...). If you happen to be a fan of Joyce Carol Oates' or Patricia Highsmith's short stories, you will most likely like Amber Lenore Winckler's stories because of the different types of grotesqueries she lays forth in each story. My only complaint is that there weren't more stories in this collection.
As for the stories themselves: they are all different and give the reader a refreshing new voice with each story. "The Distribution of Fluids" uses a cold, clinical, angry tone as Clara does her professional best with a body who deserves the unprofessional worst while remembering what her mother had told her about the abuses this woman inflicted upon her (the mother) and her siblings. "The Cat Lady" has a paranoid, dirty feel to it as the old woman sinks deeper and deeper into her mental illness (I personally wasn't too fond of the alien bit, but I felt A. L. W. wrote about this mental illness very well - in a not-over-the-top, factual manner). "The Blood (la sangre)" reads like the worst possible outcome for childhood trauma; Jessie inflicts depravities (usually consentual but often times coerced) upon younger men in a way to come to terms with what many would call an unusual addiction. This addiction was inspired by the childhood trauma and would eventually lead to his greatest griefs. I loved "Waste of Skin" ... I found it to be suspenseful and gripping because I had no clue what was going on and I couldn't wait to find out (I at first thought it was going to be "Saw" like in nature, and got a giggle when one of the trapped characters thought the same thing. It's nothing like any of the "Saw" movies). I can't write anymore without giving something away. "Fat" was difficult to read because it mostly colloquially written, but the premise was very interesting and disturbing.
I wouldn't call these horror stories, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who was squeamish. I hope Amber Lenore Winckler has another collection in the works ... hopefully she won't have as much trouble finding a publisher for the next one. If this happens to be your first A. L. W. experience, don't forget about her novels - "The Final Bath" and "Into the Hands of Strangers" :-)
