Scraps: A collection of flash-fictions from National Flash-Fiction Day 2013

by Calum Kerr, Holly Howitt (Editor), Beverly C. Lucey (Contributor)

Scraps is the second anthology from National Flash-Fiction Day. It features more than seventy huge tales told in only a few words. All of the stories in this collection have been inspired by other works of art: paintings, sculptures, TV programmes, films, music and more. As a result they are imbued with something of the original, but then take off into new and often surprising directions. Scraps features stories from Jenny Adamthwaite, Jenn Ashworth, Oliver Barton, Alan Beard, Natalie Bowers, Cathy Bryant, Joanna Campbell, Nuala Ni Chonchuir, James Coates, Claire Collison, Chris Connolly, L.A. Craig, Judy Darley, Ariel Dawn, Vanessa Gebbie, Kylie Grant, David Gullen, David Hartley, Kevlin Henney, Tania Hershman, Sarah Hilary, H Anthony Hildebrand, Eva Holland, Holly Howitt, Thaddeus Howze, Anouska Huggins, Claire Ibarra, Paul Kavanagh, RM Kealy, John Keating, Calum Kerr, Clare Kirwan, Mark Kockelbergh, Emma J. Lannie, Cathy Lennon, Beverly C. Lucey, Amy Mackelden, R A Martens, Ana Martinez, Thomas McColl, Stephen McGeagh, Danielle McLaughlin, Siobhan McNamara, Freya Morris, Andrea Mullaney, Clay Norman, John Paul O'Neill, Sonya Oldwin, Jim O'Loughlin, Amanda Oosthuizen, Jonathan Pinnock, Dan Powell, Amanda Quinn, Eabha Rose, Sam Russell, Shelley Day Sclater, Emma Shaw, Ian Shine, Diane Simmons, Tim Stevenson, Becky Tipper, Stella Turner, Tracey Upchurch, Bart Van Goethem, Alison Wells and Brendan Way. Funny, sad, exciting, intriguing, experimental and traditional, Scraps is a snapshot of the best in contemporary flash fiction.

118 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2013

Reviews

[Michael Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second anthology in the National Flash Fiction Day Series (year 2013) and I would have given it five stars because it starts off so strong with superb short shorts that are extremely effective, e.g.: Coffee, The Veronicas, St. Joseph's, The Woman in the Bowl, and Lost for Words, but most especially Slipping, How, and # (a kind of run-down on how Twitter works). Slipping blew me away with very little content saying a whole lot. I say I would have given it five stars but toned it down to four because the last ten tiny pieces, on which, I guess, the contest is based, are forgettable compared to the above mentioned and other early flashes, but overall this collection is better than the first and it only looks to get better going forward, although I'm going to skip ahead to the ultimate issue before checking out the numbers I'm missing. All are affordable in Kindle versions, most appear to be well done gathering recognizable names, and I can say without a doubt, Number 2, this anthology, is highly recommended reading.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a few short story collections but obviously haven't read much flash fiction as these weren't what I expected: they were for the most part very bleak. Is this a trend in flash fiction or just this collection? I don't know.

A few were well very well written even if I didn't enjoy them exactly. I read some out loud to my partner and he was equally as perplexed by the often oddness and bleakness of them as I was.

My 'favourites' were "Jack-o-lantern", "Aspirations to anonymity", "Why do fools fall in love", "Shoes", "Slipping", "The woman in the bowl", and "Broom". Looking at these, I've noticed that all but one of my favourites are non-fantastical stories.

Recommend it? Possibly? I'm not sure what to expect from flash fiction.

[chelstar⭐️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was like a rollercoaster, some stories I enjoyed, some I didn’t understand and some I didn’t enjoy. If you like a variety of genre’s then you may enjoy this.