Review: Music in the Bone and Other Stories by Marion Pitman

Music In The Bone And Other Stories By Marion Pitman
Publisher's Website (Book Page) Publisher's Website (Author Page) Amazon (UK) I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for a review. Alchemy Press (ebook), 2015
200 Pages

What It's About
Stories poised to send you over the edge... He had been looking for sunlight, and there wasn't any. He was much too young to remember before the dust got between the earth and the sun... Beneath the turbid ocean, the kraken slept with one eye open. ...the skin drawn tight on the skull. She smiled, and beckoned to me with a skeletal hand... Sami had a theory: "Speed beyond a certain point isn't natural. It upsets the waves of reality." But when I know - ah, then what shall I know? "(Marion Pitman's) stories are about people who discover that the floorboards of reality are much thinner than they had supposed, and in some cases have been removed altogether." - John Dallman.

Opening Sentence
The ballad finished, the woman sat down, and a man with a guitar stepped to the front of the room (MUSIC IN THE BONE)

What I Thought
Music in the Bone and Other Stories is a great collection of stories. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I enjoyed every story in this collection. There's a good mix of stories here. Some stores are downright chilly and un-nerving (i.e. Music in the Bone, Looking Glass and Overnight Bus). Other tales were quite amusing but no less enjoyable (i.e. Indecent Behaviour and The Cupboard of Winds).

I have a few favourites from the collection. The title story is one of the best stories I've read in ages. I found it unsettling, creepy and plain brilliant. I had this little voice repeating yes, this is great over and over as I read. Disposal of the Body and Out of Season were excellent. I found Looking Glass delightful. Overnight Bus and The Cupboard of Winds were fantastic. I really liked the other stories but these shone a little brighter.

The collection concludes with the author giving a little summary about where the inspiration for each story came from. I'm the kind of reader who loves this insight so this was a little treat after reading so many good stories.

Included stories:
 Music In The Bone
 The Seal Songs
 Amenities
 Sunlight In Spelling
 Disposal Of The Body
 Out Of Season
 Washing Of The Waters
 Saxophony
 Looking Glass
 Christmas Present
 Overnight Bus
 Indecent Behaviour
 Forward And Back, Change Places
 District To Upminster
 The Cupboard Of Winds
 Contamination
 Eyes Of God
 Dead Men's Company
 Meeting At The Silver Dollar