Broken Persons: A Collection of Short Stories

by Besu Tadesse

216 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2023

Reviews

[SpinelessBookReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this collection in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own

I really enjoyed the stories in this book, they ranged from horror to scifi and a few of them truly packed a heartwrenchin gutpunch. While varied in terms of genre, Broken Persons contained within it a through line of emotion that was illustrated quite nicely.

[Ben Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Persons by Besufekad Tadesse is a phenomenal collection. The stories hit me hard in both a psychological and philosophical way, using conventional horror and sci-fi setups as a backdrop while dragging me through natural, everyday-type horrors. I can think of two other collections that achieved this recently (landing them instantly among my favorites), At Home With the Horrors by Sammy Scott and Suburban Monsters by Christopher Hawkins.

Toxic relationships, existential dread, the fear of not being good enough, or of not prioritizing what matters in life, of losing perspective and becoming someone you didn’t intend… those are intense personal fears of mine. I say, keep your werewolves and ghosts and vampires, because those realistic terrors scare the living hell out of me. And in using them, Besu got ahold of my central nervous system and plucked a poignant and tragic tune from it.

Wow I loved this book.

[Mona Kabbani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intimate tales of insecurity and loss, spoken through a range of genres from horror to sci-fi to speculative fiction. Each story provided something either psychological or philosophical to ruminate over. Great imagery and a clear, deep, and relatable care for these character’s stories; I still can’t get over poor Mikael. :,)

[Chris Gamble · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is full of great concepts and storytelling! From futuristic and otherworldly to everyday scenarios, the characters and the emotions they're navigating really stand out. There's some surprises in there I definitely wasn't expecting. My favorite stories were "Lullaby", "The Grand Tour", and "Lost Connection". Highly recommended!

[Erin Hennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This set of stories is varied and interesting. From apocalyptic misadventure to sci-fi to the unexplained paranormal there was a little of everything sprinkled in which kept me engaged as a reader.

I struggled with some characters and some specific ways in which women characters were written or portrayed but to be fair they are stories of broken persons and their perspectives/lives so that may just be a personal issue for me to struggle with

Overall engaging and thought-provoking