Slipping: Stories, Essays, & Other Writing

Slipping: Stories, Essays, & Other Writing by Lauren Beukes
Published by Tachyon Publications
Ebook
Published 29 November 2016
288 pages
NetGalley

Connect with the author Buy the book: UK (affiliate's link) I was given a review copy by the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. WHAT'S IT'S ABOUT

In her edgy, satiric debut collection, award-winning South African journalist and author Lauren Beukes ( The Shining Girls, Moxyland) never holds back. Nothing is simple and everything is perilous when humans are involved: corruption, greed, and even love (of a sort).

A permanent corporate branding gives a young woman enhanced physical abilities and a nearly-constant high Recruits lifted out of poverty find a far worse fate collecting biohazardous plants on an inhospitable world

The only adult survivor of the apocalypse decides he will be the saviour of teenagers; the teenagers are not amused.

From Johannesburg to outer space, these previously uncollected tales are a compelling, dark, and slippery ride.

EXTRACT

The gloves arrived in the mail in a box lined with tissue paper (MUSE).

WHAT I THOUGHT

I really enjoyed this collection. I'm a huge fan of Beukes so I was looking forward to reading something else by her. Like all collections, Slipping was a bit of a mixed bag, some pieces were excellent, some were good, some were great and others were okay. The pieces spanned ten years so these differences are to be expected. I enjoyed the fiction the most especially Smileys, Pop Tarts, Litmash, Algebra and Ghost Girl. I was also pleasantly surprised by the non-fiction pieces especially On Beauty: A Letter to My Five-Year-Old Daughter which packed a punch. I loved the different themes and styles of the pieces. I had a great time with Slipping: Stories, Essays, & Other Writing and would recommend it.

Published