I am so thankful to BookHug Press, Kathryn Mockler, and Netgalley for granting me access to this hilariously comical read about the strife of being a woman in a man's world. This baby came out on September 19, 2023. and I'm so thankful.

"Anecdotes" by Kathryn Mockler is a collection of short stories that deftly captures the quirky and absurd moments of everyday life. With wry humor and a keen eye for the absurd, Mockler's tales navigate the mundane and the extraordinary, revealing the extraordinary hidden within the ordinary. These vignettes offer a thought-provoking exploration of the human experience, leaving readers pondering life's peculiarities and finding beauty in the banal. A unique and engaging collection.

This book just wasn't for me, which is a shame because I adore short story collections. None of the stories were well written or interesting enough for me. Very bland storytelling and some stories started to blend into other ones. Disjointed and uninspiring.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Anecdotes by Kathryn Mockler.

Summary

Overall, 2.5 stars that I rounded up. Anecdotes recounts multiple incidents that are rather tragic and sad in the life of the author. As the title suggests, these are told in an anecdotally manner and don't necessarily connect with each other. However, they all share the common thread of being about the same person.

Pros

Some of the anecdotes are gripping. I particularly liked the opening one. They are like true glimpses into someone's life, and you can't help but feel like you want to know more about them. However, this leads me to the...

Cons

I understand that such book is not supposed to be linear, but sometimes you come out of an anecdote and you absolutely want to know what happens next, just to be surprised with some esoteric one-pager that, to me, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I may just not be in the audience for this book, but often I was just confused and frustrated reading this book.

Verdict

I have friends that would ADORE this book, and friends who would DESPISE it. I think there is no in-between here, hence a 2.5 rating. I rounded it up to a 3 star because I recognize this book may not have been for me, but I truly believe some people will love it.

This collection of short fiction and 'anecdotes' was interesting, relatable and at times, challenging. Ranging the gamut from deeply personal, extremely funny, devastating, to sometimes all of the above at the same time. Highly recommended.

Sadly, the experimental format of "Anecdotes" didn't work for me. The collection of vignettes and musings lacked coherence and the "originality" as the book's USP doesn't actually add much to the reader's experience. Some pieces were captivating, but sadly they disappear under the strange literary fluff.

Anecdotes’ by Kathryn Mockler is a mind-bending reading experience that left me feeling extreme opposites in my opinion of it from one page to the next. A deep dive into the charged anxieties around modern living, this collection of short stories does not shy away from the heavier topics, touching upon abuse in all its various forms, climate change, the complexities of puberty and the risks of existing as a woman. Mockler’s writing style is unusual, with some of her offerings in this collection addressing her chosen topic in a blunt force manner, facing the issue head on and fearlessly. I loved ‘The Job Interview: A Murder’ for this reason. Detailing the circumstances and consequences around a woman’s decision not to trust her gut instinct, it was tense, engaging, and sinister. A modern-day horror story which played all too easily on a common fear of women everywhere. Other tales within Anecdotes were much more abstract, rambling around the point and encouraging the reader to tease the threads of meaning out for themselves. Whilst this was sometimes very effective, I did find myself occasionally getting frustrated with the hoops I was jumping through to get to the point. I questioned whether I was smart enough to gather what was being said.



Anecdotes is split into four sections: The Boy is Dead, We Are Not Here To Talk About Aliens, This Isn’t a Conversation and In My Dream House. The four sections are wildly different, covering fiction, semi-autobiographical memories, one liners collected from conversations and an absurdist view into the past, present and future and how they co-habit the same space. My favourites were This Isn’t a Conversation, which was punchy and relatable, reminiscent of conversations I have had myself with friends. I also enjoyed We Are Not Here to Talk About Aliens, which whilst incredibly heavy in its content was engaging and personal, giving me an insight into a life which was far different from my own, whilst touching on elements of womanhood which felt familiar.



This collection was not easy to read. It’s certainly not one I would recommend to everybody. However, it is a clever and intriguing response to some of the big questions and hot topics which are commonplace in a contemporary world. If you are interested in exploring some of these elements, I would wholeheartedly encourage you to pick up Anecdotes. A big thank you to Netgalley UK and Book*hug Press for allowing me to read and review this curious collection.

Author Mockler recounts her horrific childhood and young adult years in a series of, as the title says, "anecdotes." Taken as a whole, it's a damning indictment of the systems that are supposed to keep children safe, including family, teachers, and others. That said, I don't understand the hype for the writing, which I found kind of lacking impetus and life.

I read this book as a pre-release e-book obtained through NetGalley, provided by the publisher.

I loved this delightfully downbeat collection of poetry and short stories which were filled with dark humor with a touch of post-hope nihilism. Most of these can be read in a few seconds or a few minutes – it’s a good book of anecdotes to keep to get your bearings when things appear too cheerful. Anyone seeking to enjoy their depression rather than suffer with depression should read this book.

3 and ½ stars
Anecdotes is either four novellas or a large collection of flash fiction and it can be hard to tell which.
Split into four major parts, “The Boy is Dead”, “We’re Not Here to Talk About Aliens”, “This Isn’t a Conversation” and “The Dream House”, Mockler creates an absurdist world in which parks, the future and the past are personified, horrible things happen in the most bizarrely funny manner, and you are left to confront the pain, humiliation and inanity of being alive on this earth.
It’s hard to summarize the plots of these novellas as there usually isn’t one. There are stories in here that are one sentence long and others that are just a few lines of pointless, nonsensical dialogue. There are some incredibly dark themes throughout this book, but it’s juxtaposed with Mockler’s humour and often the assertion that these things happen and life just goes on. I genuinely laughed out loud at some parts and was horrified by others. Do with that what you will.
All this to say, I kind of enjoyed this book. There are definitely some parts where I grew frustrated with the surreal and repetitive nature of some of these stories as there’s an extremely heavy-handed approach to some of the themes in here. This book will not be for everyone, in fact I think most readers will grow frustrated with the lack of direction and resolution, however, I would recommend this to someone who enjoys surreal fiction and can handle incredibly dark humour and subject matter.

Sadly, I couldn't finish this. It didn't keep my attention and I found no interest in the writing. The description sounded really interesting, but the execution just didn't live up to it.

Anecdotes
by Kathryn Mockler
Well, this was just not an easy-to-read "NOVEL" .It was not at all funny, entertaining, or even a point to this. I am afraid I couldn't finish this one.

I did not finish this book, I got about 30 pages into it, just couldn’t do it. Reminded me of Gabbie Hanna poetry in fiction form, felt very fake deep.

I just couldn’t engage my attention in the stories. Even calling them stories is a stretch, some being a mere paragraph long. Streams of consciousness may be more accurate. I think it may just come down to personal preference, and I prefer sitting down with a book for periods of time, being able to invest in characters, seeing a story develop etc. These snippets of story felt better suited for passing short periods of time whilst waiting for something more demanding of attention. I loved Miranda Julys collection but it was more emotive, whimsical, human. I just couldn’t connect to the writing here.