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Black Light
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons
9 posts | 10 read | 15 to read
With raw, poetic ferocity, Kimberly King Parsons exposes desire's darkest hollows--those hidden places where most of us are afraid to look. In this debut collection of enormously perceptive and brutally unsentimental short stories, Parsons illuminates the ache of first love, the banality of self-loathing, the scourge of addiction, the myth of marriage, and the magic and inevitable disillusionment of childhood. Taking us from hot Texas highways to cold family kitchens, from the freedom of pay-by-the-hour motels to the claustrophobia of private school dorms, these stories erupt off the page with a primal howl--sharp-voiced, bitter, and wise. Black Light contains the type of storytelling that resonates somewhere deep, in the well of memory that repudiates nostalgia.
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Not_That_Jem
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons
Pickpick

Look, I love dark fiction. Gritty? Yes please—as long as it‘s well written. This book delivers. These short stories are about people desperate to connect, and in describing their often misguided attempts, no squalid detail is spared. I loved it. Parsons also writes drug experiences beautifully without relying on cliche or tropes. This book is a gorgeous, dingy, disgusting, beautiful collection; highly recommend. CW: everything you can imagine

RaimeyGallant Nice review 3y
Not_That_Jem Thanks! 💕 3y
4 likes2 comments
quote
Bertha_Mason
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons

"The need I‘ve got has corners. It‘s top-heavy and turning."
-"We Don't Come Natural to It"

quote
Bertha_Mason
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons

"I‘ve had almost no loss in my life, but I still believe we‘re always in between tragedies, that anything good is a lull before the next devastation."
-"Glow Hunter"

quote
Bertha_Mason
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons

"The spins don‘t feel circular to me—there‘s a kind of visual stutter, a section of the bathroom stall that keeps rewinding."
-"Guts"

review
Come-read-with-me
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons
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Pickpick

I found this to be a dark and intriguing collection of short stories. King Parsons is an astute observer of the world in which we live and uses acidic wit and unadorned interpretations to propel this collection. There were moments her writing made me uncomfortable and question how I would react/act in certain situations, but all of that played into an interesting foray through her dark world view.

review
ElectricKatyLand
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons
Pickpick

Collection of Texas Noir short stories. Gripping and occasionally unsettling. I loved it.

blurb
batsy
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons
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#BookReport

🌠 Finished Klotsvog which was interesting but didn't quite move me, & King Lear which was madness & chaos & just superb
🌚 Read Black Light, a short story collection that's on the 2020 Tournament of Books longlist, but I was left indifferent #ToB

#WeeklyForecast

🌺 Started The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne for #NYRBbookclub & I'm already charmed
❓ Hope to fit in one more book this week but not sure what—can't wait to find out 😁

BookNAround Black Light left me indifferent too. 4y
Cathythoughts 👍🏻❤️ 4y
See All 11 Comments
Cinfhen So many short story collections on that long list!! 4y
batsy @BookNAround I'm glad I'm not alone 🙂 4y
batsy @Cinfhen I know! I hope they're not all like this one 😬 4y
BarbaraBB “Can‘t wait to find out” 😂😂 4y
readordierachel 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 4y
batsy @BarbaraBB I just hope it's not nothing & that I do throw in another book! 😅 4y
75 likes11 comments
review
batsy
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons
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Mehso-so

I'm not sure what it is with contemporary short story collections from the North American Anglosphere, but I often feel deflated/bored. This has received critical acclaim & good reviews, & there's no denying that King Parsons can write a perfect sentence. However, despite the raw, grimy atmosphere & focus on people on the margins, it still came off like a cool, nonchalant, workshopped to death collection that left me feeling empty. #ToB #netgalley

ScientistSam Great review! 4y
Lesliereads *smirks* 😂 4y
batsy @ScientistSam Thank you! 4y
75 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
Redwritinghood
Black Light: Stories | Kimberly King Parsons
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Pickpick

#nbafiction2019 This short story collection was an interesting mix of the dark and gritty with the mundane. These stories center around the lives of the poor and the marginalized. The collection overall was a bit uneven with some stories not as strong as the others. 3.5⭐️