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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REVIEW: “The Secret” by Fumio Takano, trans. by Sharni Wilson

Review of Fumio Takano, Sharni Wilson (trans.), “The Secret,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Roughly a hundred years into the future, the division between the haves and the have-nots has become even further entrenched; this story is the story of two “have-nots” on opposite sides of a century who have each ended up making a living for themselves in an unexpected way. What connects them is the Mistress, who holds an unexpected secret.

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REVIEW: “My Flesh, My Beating Heart, A Willing Meal That Refuses to Remember the Dangers of Being Eaten” by Deanna J. Valdez

Review of Deanna J. Valdez, “My Flesh, My Beating Heart, A Willing Meal That Refuses to Remember the Dangers of Being Eaten,” Flash Fiction Online 142 (July 2025): 23-26 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Violence against women.

I’ve read a lot of stories that take the “monster on my back” metaphor literally — some of them are enormously effective and I love how they can be so straightforward without being trite. Unfortunately, this one isn’t quite one of them.

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REVIEW: “A Concise History of the Goldfish Trade” by Jason Pearce

Review of Jason Pearce, “A Concise History of the Goldfish Trade,” Flash Fiction Online 142 (July 2025): 12-14 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

There’s something about this story that feels very much like the type of fairy tale where a gullible young boy trades away his wealth for a myth. Two things made it more than that — Pearce’s setting amonst his ancestral Mi’kmaw, and the fact that the gullible young boy turns the tables at the end.

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REVIEW: “Recitations” by Jacob Baugher

Review of Jacob Baugher, “Recitations,” Flash Fiction Online 142 (July 2025): 8-11 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Sometimes all an author has to do to win me over is provide me with one great phrase. As soon as I read “as if thoughts and prayers were an actual sacrifice” (p. 9), I knew that Baugher could do practically nothing to ruin his story for me. But even without this masterful piece of wordcraft, I’d’ve still enjoyed this beautifully imagined story.

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