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Invisibilia: Stories
Tom Howard’s
award-winning debut short story collection, Fierce Pretty Things, won accolades
for blending “raw emotion with surreal forays into the supernatural and
metaphysical.” With his second collection, Invisibilia, Howard takes the reader
on a mesmerizing ride through a haunting, haunted landscape of children,
drifters, soldiers, lovers, and ghosts, and the unseen forces that shape their
lives.
Two sisters and
their parents slowly disappear, each in their own way, after a universe-shaking
decision; a young solder returns broken from Vietnam to his hometown, where he
must follow a set of mystifying instructions as part of a peculiar homecoming ritual;
the father of an emotionally estranged teen tries to reconnect with his son
through the wonder of nature and the spectacle of a bloody, nightmarish parade;
a sweet but disfigured actor, renowned for the monsters he once played, seeks
one final, redemptive role at the end of his career; and otherworldly
scavengers haunt a city’s rooftops, feeding on the memories and the stories of
the dead.
In these deftly
crafted narratives, Tom Howard opens a window into a world that’s at times
wildly strange, funny, sad, and absurd, but always achingly, helplessly human.
award-winning debut short story collection, Fierce Pretty Things, won accolades
for blending “raw emotion with surreal forays into the supernatural and
metaphysical.” With his second collection, Invisibilia, Howard takes the reader
on a mesmerizing ride through a haunting, haunted landscape of children,
drifters, soldiers, lovers, and ghosts, and the unseen forces that shape their
lives.
Two sisters and
their parents slowly disappear, each in their own way, after a universe-shaking
decision; a young solder returns broken from Vietnam to his hometown, where he
must follow a set of mystifying instructions as part of a peculiar homecoming ritual;
the father of an emotionally estranged teen tries to reconnect with his son
through the wonder of nature and the spectacle of a bloody, nightmarish parade;
a sweet but disfigured actor, renowned for the monsters he once played, seeks
one final, redemptive role at the end of his career; and otherworldly
scavengers haunt a city’s rooftops, feeding on the memories and the stories of
the dead.
In these deftly
crafted narratives, Tom Howard opens a window into a world that’s at times
wildly strange, funny, sad, and absurd, but always achingly, helplessly human.
- GenresFiction
162 pages, Hardcover
Published April 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
July 26, 2026
Humans are people defined by stories. Some are "factual," and others are fictional. They can come in long form or short form. When it comes to short stories, they often leave the reader with unresolved questions. Of course, good stories invite readers to add their own elements the larger story.
Tom Howard's "Invisibilia" is a collection of short stories from an award-winning writer, primarily, I believe, of short stories. I am primarily a reader/reviewer of non-fiction books. Reviewing such books is a bit different from reviewing fiction since you don't have to worry about spoilers. So, how do you review a collection of short stories? Especially a collection with the title "Invisibilia." The title of the book comes from the title of one of the short stories that describes things/people who become invisible.
This is not a religious book per se, but it is a collection of stories that are at times surreal and reflect metaphysical questions. These are largely dark stories that describe people dealing with life's challenges. I think the story that I found most compelling involved the homecoming of a soldier from Vietnam, who was dealing with woundedness of the spirit because of what he participated in.
This isn't a book for everyone, but many will find at least some of the stories impactful.
Tom Howard's "Invisibilia" is a collection of short stories from an award-winning writer, primarily, I believe, of short stories. I am primarily a reader/reviewer of non-fiction books. Reviewing such books is a bit different from reviewing fiction since you don't have to worry about spoilers. So, how do you review a collection of short stories? Especially a collection with the title "Invisibilia." The title of the book comes from the title of one of the short stories that describes things/people who become invisible.
This is not a religious book per se, but it is a collection of stories that are at times surreal and reflect metaphysical questions. These are largely dark stories that describe people dealing with life's challenges. I think the story that I found most compelling involved the homecoming of a soldier from Vietnam, who was dealing with woundedness of the spirit because of what he participated in.
This isn't a book for everyone, but many will find at least some of the stories impactful.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review