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3.5 

I Would Haunt You if I Could

By Seán Padraic Birnie
I Would Haunt You if I Could by Seán Padraic Birnie digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

I would haunt you ...

The debut short story collection from Seán Padraic Birnie does indeed haunt. Sown with seeds of sorrow and grief, and imbued with disquieting bodily horrors, the tales in "I Would Haunt You if I Could" are the product of an uncanny and febrile imagination. Birnie's writing balances on the knife's edge of the horror and literary divide. Stories that cut and bleed. Stories that linger and haunt.

...if I could.

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I Would Haunt You if I Could Reviews

3.5
“"Something about the building seemed to inspire such modifications, as if it was never quite right, never quite made sense, but was always on the cusp of doing so—if you only changed this one small thing. And there was always that one small thing." ~ OTHER HOUSES That quote is from the last story in the book, and it perfectly sums up my feeling towards this collection. While these tales are quiet and intimate, they're also off kilter and ambiguous. You don't get to know the rules ahead of time and you probably won't know them by the end. You'll think you know what's happening and you have to run with it because this book will never tell you differently. It's like reading while off-balance. A few of the stories that stuck out to me (keeping this as vague as possible): OUT OF THE BLUE - A man's father comes home to "live" with his family. I WOULD HAUNT YOU IF I COULD - A woman is struggling after her father dies and her relationship ends. She learns more about her family and herself while coping. YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO - A couple buys a new home from a highly motivated seller. There's a door in the cupboard. OTHER HOUSES - A woman loses her father and isn't sure why she's the only one that remembers an event. This isn't an easy read. It falls between literary horror and something else...not sure what exactly. It's beautifully written, with meaningful phrases repeated for effect. Just know that it is the opposite of straightforward. You'll be thinking about what you read and likely flipping back through the story to see if you missed something. You probably didn't, that's just the way these stories are. Though challenging and maybe a little frustrating at times, I never wanted to give up on it. I found it to be a rewarding reading experience and look forward to what Seán Padraic Birnie puts out next. 4/5 stars * I was given an ebook ARC for review by the publisher”

About Seán Padraic Birnie

Seán Padraic Birnie is a writer and photographer from Brighton. He holds a
B.A. from Manchester Metropolitan University in English Literature and
Creative Writing, and an M.A. in Photography from the University of Brighton,
where he works as a Technical Demonstrator on the photography courses. His
short fiction has appeared in venues such as Black Static, BFS Horizons, Litro,
and Shadows & Tall Trees, and his writing on photography has appeared in
scholarly journals and artists' books. For more info, see: seanbirnie.com.

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