Short, Vigorous Roots

Name: Short, Vigorous Roots
Rating: 4.5 (8 reviews)
ISBN: 9781947845312

By Mark Budman & Susan O'Neill

Publisher Description

The line between imagination and reality blurs in these forty poignant pieces written by first- and second-generation immigrant authors.

This flash fiction anthology examines the experiences of being a transplant in a foreign land and looks critically at what it means to forsake tongues, traditions, and comforts in the hope of starting a new life in another world. These stories push readers to expand their understanding of the world beyond their own front doors.

The collection contains forty affecting works written by several multigenerational immigrant authors from countries around the world, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Cuba, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldavia, Morocco, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam. Regardless of their origin, all share the experience of putting down roots in new soil and examining how adapting to new lives and lands impacts the characters’ understanding of themselves and their community. The stories are organized into four parts: "Past the Limits of the Familiar," "The Change is Slow," "Inheriting the Earth," and "Tired of Waiting for Home." At a thousand words or fewer, every vignette redefines resilience and the meaning of home.

Contributing Authors

Ellison Alcovendaz
Nancy Au
Genia Blum
Aida Bode
Raffi Boyadjian
Philip Charter
James Corpora
Walerian Domanski
Ingrid Jendrzejewski
Varya Kartishai
Masha Kisel
Ruth Knafo Setton
Nina Kossman
Rimma Kranet
Shaun Levin
Amit Majmudar
Maija Mäkinen
Sayantika Mandal
Erick Messias
A. Molotkov
Feliz Moreno
Kathy Nguyen
Alexandros Plasatis
Irina Popescu
Stuart Stromin
Edvin Subašić
Yong Takahashi
Alizah Teitelbaum
Lazar Trubman
Jose Varghese
Marina Villa
Yara Zghbeib

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Short, Vigorous Roots Reviews

4.5

Devyn

Created 5 months ago

“This is one of those books I need everyone to read, and I do mean everyone. Short, Vigorous Roots is a collection of flash fiction focused on experiences of people who have migrated or immigrated to another country for various reasons. Sometimes it’s because of war, sometimes it’s because of family, sometimes it’s to chase a dream. Whatever the reason, each piece is a snapshot of a particular individual and their experience. The authors are from all over the world, sometimes those origins are mentioned and sometimes they aren’t. I think this actually makes the pieces stronger since they require you as the reader to set aside your prejudices and subconscious expectations of what it means to be that particular race. As a Mexican-American exploring my own past and familial immigrant journey, I found this book to be particularly captivating. I saw bits of myself in each piece, highlighting lines from every short story that I could relate to or found powerful. I love seeing the collective human experience through! Especially with the current political climate, this is an important collection that can help us grow in empathy as we can see real people and their stories as being human. 5/5 this book has a special place on my shelf (Disclaimer: this review was written for an assignment, all opinions are true and my own)”

Believable Diverse representation Well-structured Beautifully-written Easy to read Original Racism War violence

Elle

Created over 1 year ago

“I read this book in a day and was completely in awe of the stories within it. This is a collection of short stories from various authors from all over the world, such as Cuba, Greece, Brazil, India, and more. The overall theme of the book discusses the feeling of setting down roots in a new place and all the awkwardness, difficulties, and excitement that comes with it. These stories are raw and powerful and shine light on the loss that comes with reinventing oneself in a strange new place. There is a perfect collection of diverse migrant voices for all of the stories featured. Highly recommend this book to any and all readers!”

Julie Holland

Created about 2 years ago

“This collection of stories from migrant voices from all over the world was heartbreaking, hopeful, unique, and magical. I loved it. I thought the way that it was able to reveal perspectives of immigrants from all over the world was unlike something that I have been able to find and experience. It was raw and honest while at the same time being fictional and creatively imagined. These stories put the reader in the shoes of someone vastly different from them, who comes from a vastly different array of cultures and experiences, but frame the stories in a way that readers can understand those vast differences and feel what they must have felt. The ability to create such intriguing stories with such deep characters in such a short amount of time in a flash fiction piece is amazing, and I loved every story I read. This collection is split into four different parts, ranging from countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Cuba, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldavia, Morocco, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam. Some stories are contemporary fiction, taking place in newer years, while others take place in later years and/or are more magical to the point where magical realism is in play and the story felt more like a folktale than a piece of contemporary fiction. I loved the stories that had that magical aspect to it. Such as “Throwing Down Roots,” by Amit Majmudar, where a young boy becomes an apple tree. The extended metaphor in this flash piece was beautiful. It was such a grotesque story with images that were startling and exciting. I was taken off guard in the best way imaginable. I found myself immediately drawn in, and the horrific and sad events that take place are mixed with wonder and curiosity. It was such a wonderful story, in my opinion. However, I also loved the contemporary pieces such as “Living Out Loud” by Yong Takahashi and “Beating Boris” by Masha Kisei, where I could find myself relating to the characters on a level I had not expected to. All in all, this is a beautiful collection of flash fiction pieces that took me by surprise at how crafted they were and how fast I became attached to each character and their story in such a quick amount of time.”

B Wilcox

Created almost 3 years ago

“This is a more focused collection of flash fiction than You Have Time for This, which was also co-edited by Mark Budman. Each of the short works is an immigrant story and illuminates often intimate moments of each writer’s experience having picked up and moved to a strange new country. What this collection may lack in the sometimes magically disturbing imagery of the former collection, it makes up for by giving you a window into the immigrant experience. And not to say it is completely lacking in the fantastical; there is, after all, a tomato that turns out to be, well something else (I don’t want to give spoilers), and a man who claims to be able to dissolve. We are left wondering if he really did. But, overall, it is the personal moments of challenge, and sometimes pain, navigating the unusual newness, the uprooted feeling, the longing and uncertainty of home and what that means, that draw us in. There is the powerful sadness of hardship, silence, and denial in “Unexpected Sunday Meeting” by Lazar Trubman; the poetic dance of belonging in “Throwing Down Roots” by Amit Majmudar; and the personal, quiet need to understand, to be heard in “Chasing Gods” by Edvin Subašić. Those are just a few examples of why this short book of short reads is well worth your time.”

SarahW

Created about 4 years ago

About Mark Budman

Mark Budmanis first generation immigrant to the US. He is an engineer by training but works as a medical interpreter. His fiction has appeared in Catapult, Witness, World Literature Today, and elsewhere. He is the author of the novel My Life at First Try, published by Counterpoint, and is the co-editor of anthologies published by Ooligan Press, Persea, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (China), and University of Chester (UK). Learn more at markbudman.com.

Other books by Mark Budman

Sudden Flash Youth

Christine Perkins-Hazuka & Tom Hazuka &

$12.95

Susan O'Neill

Susan O'Neill is the author of two books: the fiction collection Don't Mean Nothing (Ballantine Books, UMass Press, and Serving House Books), and a slim volume of mostly humorous short essays, Calling New Delhi for Free (Peace Corps Writers Books). She co-edited Vestal Review, the oldest continuously-running journal for flash fiction, from its beginnings in 2000 until 2020, and has published stories and essays in a fair number of literary magazines, virtual and print. She was nominated for the Pushcart twice, in fiction and in nonfiction.