Softie: Stories

by Megan Howell

In beautifully melancholy stories of magical realism, the women and girls in Softie transform their bodies and test their sanity, trying to find meaning in the loneliest of places.

A former child star haunted by a past she can't remember. An Afro-French girl with an obsession for ear lobes. A loner whose only friend is hiding a terrible, otherworldly secret. Each of these stories shares situations that are sometimes fantastical, sometimes commonplace, but always strange. From a Corsican vacation town in its off-season to hospital rooms and a seedy hotel suite in Chicago, experience the every day come fully untethered from reality.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

270 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2024

About the author

Megan is a DC-based writer. She earned her MFA in Fiction from the University of Maryland in College Park, winning both the Jack Salamanca Thesis Award and the Kwiatek Fellowship. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s, The Nashville Review and The Establishment among other publications. Her debut short story collection Softie is forthcoming with West Virginia University Press in December 2024.

Reviews

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Vacuum Cleaner” and “Apples & Dresses” kept me going

[Skylar Miklus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot damn, what a debut! Megan Howell’s twisty, speculative, bold short stories arrive with a flourish and make their presence known. In one story, a woman’s babysitting side-hustle goes sideways when the child reveals shape-shifting abilities; in another, an Afro-French girl obsesses over her lover’s earlobes. The titular short story (my favorite), in which two teenage girls detangle the fear and shame of their unusual living situation, stands out for its grit and poignancy. [I don't want to give any spoilers- just read it!] Howell’s stories carry an absurdity reminiscent of Yoko Ogawa and an urgent voice entirely her own. Her odd, brash, “softie” female protagonists will stay with you long after the final story. Thank you to West Virginia University Press for the ARC; available December 1!

[Mihaela]

The stories were good, but some could have been shorter. I just wanted to rush through the last half of the book to just be through with it.

[Jonathan Riedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I liked this collection. Many of the stories had clever magical elements and were written in simple but effective sentences. The author writes great at a micro-level.

My trouble was that so many of them screamed for an editor. After reading some stories, I thought, wait, what was that about? Sometimes I lost the big picture, with each paragraph well-written but disjointed from the rest of the story.

Vacuum Cleaner, Lobes, and Age-Defying Bubble Bath were especially good. Kitty&Tabby, Bluebeard’s First Wife, and The Upstairs People had moments of brilliance but overall left me wanting. I couldn’t follow anything that was happening in Apples and Dresses and Turtle Soup and, to some extent, Softie.

The tone also got a little hard to take after a while. Each of the narrators seemed to be a grouchy teenager, even if they were supposed to be middle-aged or sunny optimists. Additionally it felt as though there couldn’t be an “event” to turn the story that wasn’t horrific: cancer, shootings, gore. Moody neo-noir is in vogue, but not exactly what I’m looking for in a dozen short stories. I guess that’s on me. I think I would look forward to a novel by her of the same tone with a well-cohered plot.

[Megan Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult to write but an amazing read!

[Anelisa Armijo Montoya · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5) such a cool and creepy collection of stories. definitely see myself revisiting this one!

[Jennifer]

I was excited to originally read this book, but truly struggled to finish it. Some of the stories went over my head…not an enjoyable read for me.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - the writing is good, but the subject matter drags.

[Natalie Homer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Softie is, at times, a difficult read. It’s not afraid to hunker down and make a home with sadness, and that’s part of what makes it powerful. Abuse, eating disorders, assault, abortion, bullying—all of these are present. You may think this is not a book to read if you’re depressed, and yet I actually think this is exactly the book to read if you are feeling down. The stories in Softie are validating and relatable in their sorrow.

The magical realism of these stories is wonderfully executed—it threw me off-balance in an Alice-in-Wonderland way where characters grow larger or smaller or otherwise change shape . . . where things are slightly wrong, yet also intriguing . . . in a fevered, dreamlike state.

This is a collection I plan to read again—I’ve found various moments and details have sort of clung to me since I read it, popping up randomly in my thoughts, nagging at me—which I think is a characteristic of good art. It makes you want to go back for a second look.

[victoria marie]

such a stellar debut & looking forward to reading more by this talented author!

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many reasons to pick up this book and read it. The reviews on the book's website do a marvelous job of giving many of the reasons why this book is very much well worth the read.