Clearly Defined Clouds

by Jude Higgins

146 pages, Paperback

Published July 5, 2024

Reviews

[Nichole Beauchamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful range of stories with Jude Higgins' trademark humour. Husbands and wives, families, fairy tale mash ups, cli-fi futures, it's all here to savour. Tight writing, dry wit and a wry worldview. Highly recommended.

[Kathryn Aldridge-Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Higgins is a master of the short form. These powerfully understated stories are layered with meaning and backstory. No word is unnecessary. Every object and image, every word of dialogue is in service to the story. She is brilliant at capturing those quiet moments in relationships packed with tension, longing and baggage. She is also a writer who understands the personal is political. But her stories aren’t didactic. With the sleight of hand of a magician, she’ll artfully drop in a line that stops you in your tracks and makes you think, like: “Not too far in the future, people would long to be stung by anything, even a mosquito.”

Higgins is also a nature writer, and one of the few writers who tackles the climate emergency. Her stories remind us we are part of, not separate from, nature. She writes about missing hedgehogs, a future where Tupperware parties are replaced by infestation parties, yarn-bombing and depressed silverback gorillas. Couples getting lost in fields of corn.

Some stories floored me – Higgins understands how to convey longing and sadness without being overwrought – while some made me laugh out loud: A character says of her therapist: ‘“Speak as the animal you are. Eat only pink foods.” He was a tidy man, with a guarded face. She paid him money to suggest such things.’

If you want a deeply satisfying reading experience, I can’t recommend strongly enough!