Things We Say in the Dark

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It’s not until she’s brought a basil and strawberry sponge cake to Neville Longbottom and his new girlfriend, Hannah Abbott, a dozen rhubarb hand-pies to Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood, and another basket of ganache-covered muffins to Dean and Seamus, that Hermione admits to herself what she’s actually doing: she’s making a thing of this. It’s a veritable PTSD tour. With pastries. And hand-skimmed clotted cream. And she has no idea why she’s doing it, but it’s becoming very apparent that she is. Language: English Words: 76,720 Chapters: 29/29 Collections: 110 Comments: 1,837 Kudos: 12,840 Bookmarks: 5,225 Hits: 338,621

Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan (Paperback) Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan (Paperback)

Can we ever say that we know what scares us the most? I am afraid of spiders and jenny-long-legs, but these are surface fears.Some things can’t be spoken about in the light of day. But we can visit our fears at night, in the dark. We can turn them over and weigh them in our hands and maybe that will protect us from them. But maybe not. He fell into a dreamy hush, holding her and once more closing his eyes. The only signs he remained awake were the feathery motions of his fingers as they wove into her hair, gently coiling them into loose knots. It was almost childlike, the way he did it. So pure. So devoid of any intention other than to soothe.

Review: Things We Say in the Dark, by Kirsty Logan Review: Things We Say in the Dark, by Kirsty Logan

The author in the framing device grows increasingly introspective and gloomy as the book progresses. The final story, the grimmest of all, sets male oppression against female compliance, with an ending balancing hope and despair on a knife edge. There are strong individual stories here, but the book also works cumulatively, building up an impressive atmosphere of dread. I have to say in advance: it’s mostly me, not the collection, but maybe be advised on the content before you go into it. I didn't particular like the last story (too real, perhaps, and less real for it? or maybe it just made me queasier than the others did), but I adored the rest. Especially "Things My Wife and I Found Hidden in Our House", which I want to pin up forever on my studio wall and look at in the reminder that this story is what I want to be when I (and my thesis) grow up, and "We Can Make Something Grow Between the Mushrooms and the Snow" (I would happily live in the Island House right now), and "Sleep Long, Sleep Tight, it is Best to Wake Up Late". Also special mention to "The World's More Full of Weeping Than You Can Understand" for the most excellent (and deeply disturbing) use of footnotes.It took him a moment to respond. It was so dark, it didn’t matter that his eyes were still pinched shut when he turned to her, letting her hand slip from his nose to the sharp corner of his jaw. “What do you want me to say?” he asked, his voice low and raspy. There are definitely lots of things to admire here. Logan’s prose is always readable, but it’s punctuated by moments of linguistic beauty, with vivid and evocative imagery peppered throughout. Some of these disturbing tableaus are sure to linger in the mind. The stories themselves are mostly contemporary, but there’s a timeless quality to the themes being explored. Namely, the domestic fears of everyday life – particularly those that haunt young women. Logan takes the things we’re told by society to aim for – the gorgeous home, the perfect family, the successful life – and spins our apprehensions about them into what reads like a series of fever dreams, as though she has literally documented her nightmares in the form of a dream diary. What if our houses aren’t the safe spaces we always imagined? What if you find the experience of pregnancy and childbirth horrifying rather than beautiful? How would you cope if your child wasn’t healthy or happy? What if you wished you’d never become a parent at all? What if you can never escape the horrors of your past? These fears and more are explored in claustrophobic, hypnotic ways by employing a dash of fairy tale, a twist of the supernatural, and a generous pinch of magical realism. This collection of short tales can definitely be classified as belonging in the horror genre, and yet they are unlike anything I have ever read there. No ghostly apparitions appear and no monsters lurk in the shadows, but uneasiness creeps steadily throughout each tale and it seeps out from inside of reader and characters alike, where the true fears reside.

Things We Say in the Dark Quotes by Kirsty Logan - Goodreads Things We Say in the Dark Quotes by Kirsty Logan - Goodreads

It goes on and on and on but we didn’t see any of this before, so why are we being told this as if it has been shown before? As if it were a continuation of things that have already been shown? Ever since its announcement in early 2019, Things We Say in the Dark has been high up on my most-anticipated list. It’s no secret that I’m as close as it gets to a fangirl when it comes to Kirsty Logans work. I’ve adored everything she’s written thus far, and was expecting a collection of horror-short-stories in her style to be a 5-star experience for me as well. I didn’t even consider the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to finish it. Yet here we are… What did he want to say? The question stayed in her mind and chafed against every unspoken word and every sign of hesitation that Xander showed. Now that Garon was dead, Corrin wanted to know all the secrets between father and son, festering and eating away at Xander’s heart. The thought filtered through her mind as she felt the warm press of his breath, parting the kiss for a drawn-out second. Their lips hovered close to each other — breathing, barely touching as sweat beaded down their skin. Their eyes met once more, and in that shared moment, Corrin felt her lungs squeeze in hot air, caught in the lustful yet paternal gaze he reserved just for her.Home.” She held her breath, focused on the unperturbed beating of his heart. There was so much finality to the word that unnerved Corrin. What was home? Where was it? When she closed her eyes, she pictured that lonely tower and the room she had known. Blue skies and a sun couldn’t shake that image out of her head. A smile crept up on her lips, the irony not having been lost on her. Full of magic realism and gentle horror, this is a book for fans of Salt Slow and The Doll’s Alphabet.