REVIEW: “No Laughter in a Vacuum” by Anna Clark

Review of Anna Clark, “No Laughter in a Vacuum,” Flash Fiction Online 143 (August 2025): 12-15 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Ellen — described by her ex-girlfriend as a personality vacuum all the way down — secures a job that exploits this: She absorbs other people’s social defects so they can more successfully navigate their lives. As we (the readers) get to see what social defects it is that her clients choose for her to erase, the story becomes a more and more uncomfortable read.

On one level, this is a story of masking, and it’s such a real and raw and realistic story of masking, I almost wanted to put a content note at the start of this review, not necessarily to warn people off from the story, but at least to warn them of it. I think the ending is intended to be happy one, but I was too caught up in what came before to find any joy in the resolution.

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REVIEW: “Textures” by Lisa Fox

Review of Lisa Fox, “Textures,” Flash Fiction Online 143 (August 2025): 7-10 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This is a story of love, and weddings, and memories. It’s sweet and short and sad, and full of beautiful metaphors such as “If love had a texture, it would be satin” (p. 7).

But — Annie, the main character, says of this metaphor,

In thirty-five years of working with brides, I knew which marriages would last by the way they responded to my metaphor (p. 7).

I wonder what she would think of my reaction, which is that satin wrinkles easily and the wrinkles are almost impossible to iron out!

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REVIEW: “Kolumbo 1619: Choose Your Own Adventure” by KÁNYIN Olorunnisola

Review of KÁNYIN Olorunnisola, “Kolumbo 1619: Choose Your Own Adventure,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Racism, police brutality, murder.

This is a “choose your own adventure” through systematic racism in early 20th C America, over and over and over again. It’s the sort of story that never in a million years could I have ever written, because it is so far removed from my own (privileged!) experiences: I can only ever hope to get a glimpse of understanding of these experiences by reading about them. It’s a tough read, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to do so.

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REVIEW: “The Tangle” by Rae Mariz

Review of Rae Mariz, “The Tangle,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Animal harm, references to genocide.

As a reader from the tail end of the blip generation, you’re accustomed to your stories having a very particular shape. A recognizable structure. This narrative is likely to be new terrain.

This quote completely encapsulates the thoughts I’d been having very shortly before this quote — that the story itself was a tangle, structured in an unfamiliar, and hence confusing, way. This quote helped reassure me that persevering would be worth it. I think by the end I’d mostly sorted out the tangle. Was it worth it? I’m not sure. Parts of it were too didactic (and too rhetorical) for my taste. But I suspect this is a story I’ll continue to think about.

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