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The Mirrors
In Nicole Cushing's first full-length collection, The Mirrors, one finds the reflections of a nightmare world brimming with horror, despair, and brazen absurdity. Within these pages are tales of identities lost and found...relationships lost and found...sanity lost and found.
"Nicole Cushing's stories grab you by the throat—and don't let go until they have slapped you around a bit. I know of few writers of contemporary weird fiction whose stories pack the raw emotional power that hers do..." -- S.T. Joshi (from his foreword)
"Nicole Cushing comes in smart and hard, skilled and strange times three. Many aspire. But you can't fake this kind of weird."
-- New York Times Bestselling Author John Skipp
"Nicole Cushing's stories grab you by the throat—and don't let go until they have slapped you around a bit. I know of few writers of contemporary weird fiction whose stories pack the raw emotional power that hers do..." -- S.T. Joshi (from his foreword)
"Nicole Cushing comes in smart and hard, skilled and strange times three. Many aspire. But you can't fake this kind of weird."
-- New York Times Bestselling Author John Skipp
220 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2015
15 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Cushing
41 books346 followersNicole Cushing is the Bram Stoker Award® winning author of Mr. Suicide and a two-time nominee for the Shirley Jackson Award.
Various reviewers have described her work as “brutal”, “cerebral”, “transgressive”, "wickedly funny", “taboo”, “groundbreaking” and “mind-bending”.
Rue Morgue magazine included Nicole in its list of 13 Wicked Women to Watch, praising her as an “an intense and uncompromising literary voice”. She has also garnered praise from Jack Ketchum, Thomas Ligotti, and Poppy Z. Brite (aka, Billy Martin).
Her second novel, A Sick Gray Laugh (2019) was named to LitReactor’s Best Horror Novels of the Last Decade list and the Locus Recommended Reading List. She has recently completed and polished her third novel.
She lives in Indiana.
Various reviewers have described her work as “brutal”, “cerebral”, “transgressive”, "wickedly funny", “taboo”, “groundbreaking” and “mind-bending”.
Rue Morgue magazine included Nicole in its list of 13 Wicked Women to Watch, praising her as an “an intense and uncompromising literary voice”. She has also garnered praise from Jack Ketchum, Thomas Ligotti, and Poppy Z. Brite (aka, Billy Martin).
Her second novel, A Sick Gray Laugh (2019) was named to LitReactor’s Best Horror Novels of the Last Decade list and the Locus Recommended Reading List. She has recently completed and polished her third novel.
She lives in Indiana.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 25, 2015
What an excellent collection!
Nicole Cushing contacted me a while back and offered me the chance to read her first collection of stories. I was honored and I accepted, so here we are.
Wildly imaginative and creative, I'm stunned by the quality of this volume. The tales are consistently good-whether they be totally out of the realm of possibility, (invisible babies? see Non Evidens), on the verge of possibility, (purchasing a newly tattooed or tanned skin? see The Peculiar Salesgirl), or too late to stop, (see The Cat in the Cage), each one brings its own intensity to the reader.
Most of these stories work on a few different levels-there's a lot of social commentary going on here, if the reader wants to analyze things. For instance, what are homeless shelters like in the future? (See White Flag). There were a number of things to reflect upon here-there are still homeless shelters in the future? Will they still be so crowded? Do they get there by flying buses? (Turns out they do.) On top of the entertainment value, many of these tales start your mind to thinking and I've always enjoyed that.
I rated each story as I read it-none of them was lower than 3 stars. However, I don't want to post a simple recitation of story titles, (even though these titles are AWESOME), and ratings. SO, these were my favorites:
The Suffering Clown -Just picture a sad clown sitting in a nearly empty parking lot-at night, asking you if he could perform for you. Creepy, right? This story worked SO well for me, I actually clapped with delight at the end. (I'm a geek, what can I say?)
Subcontractors-This story, to me, seemed to be- just making the best of a bad situation. Making lemonade from lemons, that whole thing. It was just so...weird and compelling. I don't know what else to say. You should read it.
I mentioned Non Evidens above, but it was just so out there I had to bring it up again. Just think about it-Invisible Babies. Babies that grow into adults, as lucky babies are wont to do. What's life as an invisible person like? Nicole explores that question as well as exploring the more generic, yet REAL questions of parenting and understanding. More claps at the end of this one.
I imagine that I see a lot of Ligotti here, maybe some Laird Barron and a pinch of Aickman. Maybe some Poe, too. Like I said, it's possible that's just my imagination. I like and respect all those guys, but Nicole has a voice of her very own and I'm digging it.
This collection is expected out on July 1st, from Cycatrix Press. I give it my HIGHEST recommendation!
*I received this e-ARC free, in exchange for an honest review.This is it.*
Nicole Cushing contacted me a while back and offered me the chance to read her first collection of stories. I was honored and I accepted, so here we are.
Wildly imaginative and creative, I'm stunned by the quality of this volume. The tales are consistently good-whether they be totally out of the realm of possibility, (invisible babies? see Non Evidens), on the verge of possibility, (purchasing a newly tattooed or tanned skin? see The Peculiar Salesgirl), or too late to stop, (see The Cat in the Cage), each one brings its own intensity to the reader.
Most of these stories work on a few different levels-there's a lot of social commentary going on here, if the reader wants to analyze things. For instance, what are homeless shelters like in the future? (See White Flag). There were a number of things to reflect upon here-there are still homeless shelters in the future? Will they still be so crowded? Do they get there by flying buses? (Turns out they do.) On top of the entertainment value, many of these tales start your mind to thinking and I've always enjoyed that.
I rated each story as I read it-none of them was lower than 3 stars. However, I don't want to post a simple recitation of story titles, (even though these titles are AWESOME), and ratings. SO, these were my favorites:
The Suffering Clown -Just picture a sad clown sitting in a nearly empty parking lot-at night, asking you if he could perform for you. Creepy, right? This story worked SO well for me, I actually clapped with delight at the end. (I'm a geek, what can I say?)
Subcontractors-This story, to me, seemed to be- just making the best of a bad situation. Making lemonade from lemons, that whole thing. It was just so...weird and compelling. I don't know what else to say. You should read it.
I mentioned Non Evidens above, but it was just so out there I had to bring it up again. Just think about it-Invisible Babies. Babies that grow into adults, as lucky babies are wont to do. What's life as an invisible person like? Nicole explores that question as well as exploring the more generic, yet REAL questions of parenting and understanding. More claps at the end of this one.
I imagine that I see a lot of Ligotti here, maybe some Laird Barron and a pinch of Aickman. Maybe some Poe, too. Like I said, it's possible that's just my imagination. I like and respect all those guys, but Nicole has a voice of her very own and I'm digging it.
This collection is expected out on July 1st, from Cycatrix Press. I give it my HIGHEST recommendation!
*I received this e-ARC free, in exchange for an honest review.This is it.*
November 2, 2015
Review copy
Nicole Cushing is a Shirley Jackson Award finalist who's written a number of stand-alone novellas and dozens of short stories. Nicole has been referred to as the literary equivalent of the love child between Jack Ketchum and Poppy Z. Bright. Raised in rural Maryland and now living in southern Indiana, Nicole counts master storyteller Edgar Allen Poe as having had a big influence on her as a writer.
A few weeks ago, I read Nicole's debut novel, Mr. Suicide. a book filled with richly demented and deformed characters. This was one of my favorite reads so far in 2015. Highly recommended.
The Mirrors is a collection of twenty works of speculative fiction which, for the most part, have been published elsewhere, but appear together for the first time in this volume.
As I read story after story, each a bit stranger than the last, the words from Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken came to my mind. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by..." These are NOT the typical stories one expects to find in a collection from a horror writer. Sure, they're twisted, demented, and at times unsettling, but there's more to it than that. Have you ever walked through a Hall of Mirrors at a carnival, the kind that present you with reflections that are misshaped and often leave you lost? Yeah, reading these tales was a bit like that.
There are stories told from the Point Of View of a bottle of morphine, of suicide, hell, amnesia, a homeless time traveler. There's even a story with a hermaphrodite.
One of my favorites is THE LAST KID SCARED BY LUGOSI where a film buff brings the actor back to life on the 100th anniversary of the release of the iconic Dracula film.
I also loved EULOGY TO BE GIVEN BY WHOEVER'S STILL SOBER about a zombie writer attending his own funeral, planning to drink himself to death.
I often think it might be fun to get inside a writers mind to see just what makes them tick, After reading this collection by Nicole Cushing, I'm not so sure I'd want to make that trip. At least, not without adequate protection.
The Mirrors is available now in softcover, with e-book coming soon, from Cycatrix Press.
Recommended.
Nicole Cushing is a Shirley Jackson Award finalist who's written a number of stand-alone novellas and dozens of short stories. Nicole has been referred to as the literary equivalent of the love child between Jack Ketchum and Poppy Z. Bright. Raised in rural Maryland and now living in southern Indiana, Nicole counts master storyteller Edgar Allen Poe as having had a big influence on her as a writer.
A few weeks ago, I read Nicole's debut novel, Mr. Suicide. a book filled with richly demented and deformed characters. This was one of my favorite reads so far in 2015. Highly recommended.
The Mirrors is a collection of twenty works of speculative fiction which, for the most part, have been published elsewhere, but appear together for the first time in this volume.
As I read story after story, each a bit stranger than the last, the words from Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken came to my mind. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by..." These are NOT the typical stories one expects to find in a collection from a horror writer. Sure, they're twisted, demented, and at times unsettling, but there's more to it than that. Have you ever walked through a Hall of Mirrors at a carnival, the kind that present you with reflections that are misshaped and often leave you lost? Yeah, reading these tales was a bit like that.
There are stories told from the Point Of View of a bottle of morphine, of suicide, hell, amnesia, a homeless time traveler. There's even a story with a hermaphrodite.
One of my favorites is THE LAST KID SCARED BY LUGOSI where a film buff brings the actor back to life on the 100th anniversary of the release of the iconic Dracula film.
I also loved EULOGY TO BE GIVEN BY WHOEVER'S STILL SOBER about a zombie writer attending his own funeral, planning to drink himself to death.
I often think it might be fun to get inside a writers mind to see just what makes them tick, After reading this collection by Nicole Cushing, I'm not so sure I'd want to make that trip. At least, not without adequate protection.
The Mirrors is available now in softcover, with e-book coming soon, from Cycatrix Press.
Recommended.
December 17, 2016
Like overbrimming pessimism served cold, with a punch to the gut for good measure?
This is for you!
Cushing got on my radar after I watched an interview she did with the Lovecraft eZine and learned that she was a fan of Ligotti's work. This piqued my interest, and I was glad to finally see a collection of her stories published all in one place.
The first half of this book, the section "Broken Mirrors" is an incredibly bleak collection of stories, both philosophically and emotionally. Cushing offers little hope, except oblivion itself which is preferable to the horrors of existence. These are also the best stories.
Each story takes on the Ligottian philosophy, and similarly cosmic themes in very creative ways, that was what impressed me the most. She takes on these somewhat familiar ideas (to readers of weird fiction) like an object in her hand and turning it, gives a different perspective on them.
The latter stories of the book (Funhouse Mirrors, forward) are a mix of more general horror stories, with some darkly absurdist comic stories as well. These stories are all fun reads, but in my opinion several didn't measure up to the stories in the first section. The early stories really impressed me because of their exploration of deeper philosophical ideas.
Alienation is a common theme throughout all of these stories. The narrators are typically downtrodden, outcasts and freaks. Poverty is a consistent theme here too. These are people living on the fringes of a society which is cruel, and either casts them out or uses and abuses them in horrifying ways.
All this darkness feels personal with Cushing. "The Suffering Clown" might be the best story of all, it's very memorable, horrific, and put's human beings in their proper place in the cosmos. Stories like "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Class" express both the cruelty of society and an uncaring universe. Two others that stood out were "A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs" and "The Orchard of Hanging Trees" -- both are over-brimming with a deep pessimism. Two in the second half of the book I liked were "Subcontractors" and "A Peculiar Salesgirl," the former being a sort of apocalyptic weird tale, the second a corporate horror story.
BROKEN MIRRORS
The Truth, as Told by a Bottle of Liquid Morphine - A truly grim tale, full of existential despair and grinding poverty. I thought the story had a weird concept at first, but it works quite well. A morphine bottle watches as a cancer patient slowly dies, and reflects on what it sees.
The Cat in the Cage - This one has a sort of conte cruel feel to it, I more-or-less saw the ending coming, but still; grim indeed. A woman contemplates suicide, having run out of options, her only companion a playful cat which A.A. encouraged her to get.
The Orchard of Hanging Trees - An excellent story, maybe the grimmest, but one of the most memorable in the book. A man begins a job in Hell, tending fetuses growing from trees.
The Fourteenth - Wow, I never thought I would read a weird tale that featured my favorite composer! Shostakovitch's fourteenth symphony was among my favorites in college, a very dark work. It's used to great effect here. A woman learns of her husband's sudden death, and at the same time discovers a portal into another world.
A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs - Another great story with a very original concept. Directions are given to a sacred altar which will steal away one's past.
White Flag - This one mixes science fiction, and even some comedy, but ends with a dour mood. It reminded me of that famous Ligotti quote, "There's nothing to do, nowhere to go..." A man outside a homeless shelter entertains the ramblings of a stranger who claims to be from the future, but is stuck in this time.
The Company Town - I read this one last year in the Ligotti tribute anthology "The Grimscribe Puppets," but re-reading it I thought it was even better this time around. It's really a very funny story in it's absurdist, corporate-horror fashion. After the death of his wife, a father takes his daughter with him to a new town owned and operated by a very strange corporation.
The Choir of Beasts - This is one of the longer stories. It brought to mind the works of Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, but is dedicated to Ligotti and this is where the biggest influence is of course. It definitely has dark fantasy elements, but emphasis on the dark! A hunter tries fruitlessly to find food for the survivors of a plague in his village, and takes up a shaman's offer to enter another dimension and to destroy the world completely.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Class - I thought the concept here was brilliant, exploring the cruelty of society as much as existence itself. I really sympathize with the alienating feel of this story. In a society which forces children to take aptitude tests to determine their denigrating roles in society, one girl decides to rebel.
The Last Kid Scared by Lugosi - This is an interesting story, a bit different for this collection. It has a melancholy, poignant ending. A girl decides to resurrect the corpse of Bela Lugosi, but learns the dead prefer not to be disturbed.
I Am Moonflower - A sort of fairy tale, very short. A bee finds itself cornered in a garden by a shrew, and this sets off a series of revelations for itself and others.
The Meaning - This story is anti-natalism embodied practically. This is a brilliant exploration of these ideas in one of the simplest ways possible. The meaning of an obscure, short horror film is discussed.
The Suffering Clown - This is definitely one of the best in the book. An excellent weird tale with a punch to the gut ending that blew me away. A father and his son meet a seemingly sick old clown in a parking lot with a horrifying power.
FUNHOUSE MIRRORS
Eulogy to be Given by Whoever’s Still Sober - Cushing notes in her preface that the three stories in this section are comedic. I thought this was hilarious at times, darkly so of course. A recovering alcoholic attends a funeral at a stripper bar, for a famous horror author who is going to drink himself to death.
Youth to Be Proud Of - Another funny story, full of outrageous moments with a comedically clueless narrator. A local critic is outraged by the transgressions at a high school play, but is quite pleased with the sinister adjustments made to the second performance.
Subcontractors - This was one of my favorites, it has the same darkly comedic absurdity of "The Company Town." During an apocalyptic plague a poor girls' ever-optimistic mother takes in corpses for funeral homes to pay the bills.
BOUDOIR MIRRORS
The Peculiar Salesgirl - This is another of my favorites, it's got a great corporate horror theme, with some intense body horror elements, but the social commentary is what stands out. Growing up in a small town and working at Wal-Mart while in college I can relate. A girl returns to her hometown from college and feels pressured to shop for a new skin at Skin-Mart, it's what all the cool girls are doing!
Non Evidens - This one made me laugh out loud several times. It's a powerful story, both funny and sad with a sort of Twilight Zone ending. A woman tries to reconcile herself to the knowledge that she is going to have a baby with a rare condition -- invisibility.
The Squatters - Very strange story, not among my favorites, I did like the way it started out but not the way it resolved. A small town sheriff goes out to confront a very strange trio of squatters on a small spit of land.
CODA
The Mirrors - This is one of the few stories up an uplifting ending, but it was another one that just didn't really do it for me. A world tries to deal with mirrors suddenly malfunctioning, at least for the unfortunate in society.
This is for you!
Cushing got on my radar after I watched an interview she did with the Lovecraft eZine and learned that she was a fan of Ligotti's work. This piqued my interest, and I was glad to finally see a collection of her stories published all in one place.
The first half of this book, the section "Broken Mirrors" is an incredibly bleak collection of stories, both philosophically and emotionally. Cushing offers little hope, except oblivion itself which is preferable to the horrors of existence. These are also the best stories.
Each story takes on the Ligottian philosophy, and similarly cosmic themes in very creative ways, that was what impressed me the most. She takes on these somewhat familiar ideas (to readers of weird fiction) like an object in her hand and turning it, gives a different perspective on them.
The latter stories of the book (Funhouse Mirrors, forward) are a mix of more general horror stories, with some darkly absurdist comic stories as well. These stories are all fun reads, but in my opinion several didn't measure up to the stories in the first section. The early stories really impressed me because of their exploration of deeper philosophical ideas.
Alienation is a common theme throughout all of these stories. The narrators are typically downtrodden, outcasts and freaks. Poverty is a consistent theme here too. These are people living on the fringes of a society which is cruel, and either casts them out or uses and abuses them in horrifying ways.
All this darkness feels personal with Cushing. "The Suffering Clown" might be the best story of all, it's very memorable, horrific, and put's human beings in their proper place in the cosmos. Stories like "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Class" express both the cruelty of society and an uncaring universe. Two others that stood out were "A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs" and "The Orchard of Hanging Trees" -- both are over-brimming with a deep pessimism. Two in the second half of the book I liked were "Subcontractors" and "A Peculiar Salesgirl," the former being a sort of apocalyptic weird tale, the second a corporate horror story.
BROKEN MIRRORS
The Truth, as Told by a Bottle of Liquid Morphine - A truly grim tale, full of existential despair and grinding poverty. I thought the story had a weird concept at first, but it works quite well. A morphine bottle watches as a cancer patient slowly dies, and reflects on what it sees.
The Cat in the Cage - This one has a sort of conte cruel feel to it, I more-or-less saw the ending coming, but still; grim indeed. A woman contemplates suicide, having run out of options, her only companion a playful cat which A.A. encouraged her to get.
The Orchard of Hanging Trees - An excellent story, maybe the grimmest, but one of the most memorable in the book. A man begins a job in Hell, tending fetuses growing from trees.
The Fourteenth - Wow, I never thought I would read a weird tale that featured my favorite composer! Shostakovitch's fourteenth symphony was among my favorites in college, a very dark work. It's used to great effect here. A woman learns of her husband's sudden death, and at the same time discovers a portal into another world.
A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs - Another great story with a very original concept. Directions are given to a sacred altar which will steal away one's past.
White Flag - This one mixes science fiction, and even some comedy, but ends with a dour mood. It reminded me of that famous Ligotti quote, "There's nothing to do, nowhere to go..." A man outside a homeless shelter entertains the ramblings of a stranger who claims to be from the future, but is stuck in this time.
The Company Town - I read this one last year in the Ligotti tribute anthology "The Grimscribe Puppets," but re-reading it I thought it was even better this time around. It's really a very funny story in it's absurdist, corporate-horror fashion. After the death of his wife, a father takes his daughter with him to a new town owned and operated by a very strange corporation.
The Choir of Beasts - This is one of the longer stories. It brought to mind the works of Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, but is dedicated to Ligotti and this is where the biggest influence is of course. It definitely has dark fantasy elements, but emphasis on the dark! A hunter tries fruitlessly to find food for the survivors of a plague in his village, and takes up a shaman's offer to enter another dimension and to destroy the world completely.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Class - I thought the concept here was brilliant, exploring the cruelty of society as much as existence itself. I really sympathize with the alienating feel of this story. In a society which forces children to take aptitude tests to determine their denigrating roles in society, one girl decides to rebel.
The Last Kid Scared by Lugosi - This is an interesting story, a bit different for this collection. It has a melancholy, poignant ending. A girl decides to resurrect the corpse of Bela Lugosi, but learns the dead prefer not to be disturbed.
I Am Moonflower - A sort of fairy tale, very short. A bee finds itself cornered in a garden by a shrew, and this sets off a series of revelations for itself and others.
The Meaning - This story is anti-natalism embodied practically. This is a brilliant exploration of these ideas in one of the simplest ways possible. The meaning of an obscure, short horror film is discussed.
The Suffering Clown - This is definitely one of the best in the book. An excellent weird tale with a punch to the gut ending that blew me away. A father and his son meet a seemingly sick old clown in a parking lot with a horrifying power.
FUNHOUSE MIRRORS
Eulogy to be Given by Whoever’s Still Sober - Cushing notes in her preface that the three stories in this section are comedic. I thought this was hilarious at times, darkly so of course. A recovering alcoholic attends a funeral at a stripper bar, for a famous horror author who is going to drink himself to death.
Youth to Be Proud Of - Another funny story, full of outrageous moments with a comedically clueless narrator. A local critic is outraged by the transgressions at a high school play, but is quite pleased with the sinister adjustments made to the second performance.
Subcontractors - This was one of my favorites, it has the same darkly comedic absurdity of "The Company Town." During an apocalyptic plague a poor girls' ever-optimistic mother takes in corpses for funeral homes to pay the bills.
BOUDOIR MIRRORS
The Peculiar Salesgirl - This is another of my favorites, it's got a great corporate horror theme, with some intense body horror elements, but the social commentary is what stands out. Growing up in a small town and working at Wal-Mart while in college I can relate. A girl returns to her hometown from college and feels pressured to shop for a new skin at Skin-Mart, it's what all the cool girls are doing!
Non Evidens - This one made me laugh out loud several times. It's a powerful story, both funny and sad with a sort of Twilight Zone ending. A woman tries to reconcile herself to the knowledge that she is going to have a baby with a rare condition -- invisibility.
The Squatters - Very strange story, not among my favorites, I did like the way it started out but not the way it resolved. A small town sheriff goes out to confront a very strange trio of squatters on a small spit of land.
CODA
The Mirrors - This is one of the few stories up an uplifting ending, but it was another one that just didn't really do it for me. A world tries to deal with mirrors suddenly malfunctioning, at least for the unfortunate in society.
December 5, 2020
A surprising number of Cushing’s tales are of a provocative “what if” sort and might almost be classified as science fiction; but there is more than enough fear, gruesomeness, and supernatural horror to place them well within the confines of the weird tale.
July 17, 2023
•The Truth, as Told by a Bottle of Liquid Morphine ⭐⭐⭐
•The Cat in the Cage ⭐⭐⭐
• The Orchard of Hanging Trees ⭐⭐⭐• The Fourteenth
• A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs •White Flag
• The Company Town ⭐⭐⭐
• The Choir of Beasts ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Class ⭐⭐⭐
• The Last Kid Scared by Lugosi ⭐⭐⭐
• I Am Moonflower
• The Meaning
• The Suffering Clown ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Eulogy to be Given by Whoever's Still Sober ⭐⭐⭐
• Youth to Be Proud Of ⭐⭐
• Subcontractors
• The Peculiar Salesgirl ⭐⭐⭐
• Non Evidens
• The Squatters
• The Mirrors
•The Cat in the Cage ⭐⭐⭐
• The Orchard of Hanging Trees ⭐⭐⭐• The Fourteenth
• A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs •White Flag
• The Company Town ⭐⭐⭐
• The Choir of Beasts ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Class ⭐⭐⭐
• The Last Kid Scared by Lugosi ⭐⭐⭐
• I Am Moonflower
• The Meaning
• The Suffering Clown ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Eulogy to be Given by Whoever's Still Sober ⭐⭐⭐
• Youth to Be Proud Of ⭐⭐
• Subcontractors
• The Peculiar Salesgirl ⭐⭐⭐
• Non Evidens
• The Squatters
• The Mirrors
December 6, 2021
Favourite stories: “A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs” “The Choir of Beasts” “The Suffering Clown” “Youth to Be Proud Of” “Non Evidens” “The Mirrors”
May 27, 2022
This was a really beautiful collection that was exceptionally well curated and themed appropriately. I'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but the language is somewhat dense. I've gone through most of Cushing's works pretty quickly, but had to slow down and digest here. It made for a slower read, but I really chewed on the words and savored them.
The first section, Broken Mirrors, was almost too soul-crushing to keep going. Clearly drawing inspiration from Ligotti, these stories are heavy and nihilistic, but Cushing brings her own style to them. They convey beauty and nostalgia as (until now) only Gaiman could. They also tell the capabilities of human cruelty as (until now) only Ketchum could. Every story is worth a read, but a few that REALLY stood out to me are The Truth, as Told by a Bottle of Liquid Morphine (portraying our true capacity for selfishness and cruelty), The Orchard of Hanging Trees (portraying how we let cruelty happen in fear of the consequences for nonconformance), The Cat in the Cage (a tragic story about finding something to live for after it's too late), A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs (a nihilistic tragedy, perhaps set in the world of Mr. Suicide), The Suffering Clown (a crushing story with a truly sick premise), and I am Moonflower (a tragic and beautiful origin story).
Funhouse Mirrors finally gave me a bit of reprieve as a reader. Though still nihilistic, this section was a bit more approachable and cleverly broke up the intense tragedy of the first section with a bit of dark humor. All three stories were great. Still dark, but funny and almost even partly cloudy for some of it!
Boudoir Mirrors steps back towards the "realistic absurd". The Peculiar Salesgirl and The Squatters definitely shocked me a bit. Both were great stories that I didn't quite anticipate. Non-Evidens was a story set in a pretty abstract concept, but was still deeply relatable and truly sorrowful.
The last story, The Mirrors, set in the Coda section all by itself, was truly beautiful. I emotionally prepared myself for the nihilistic, will-to-live-stomping storytelling of the stories of the first section. Then, the book ended... and I smiled and nearly melted.
A truly beautiful collection...
The first section, Broken Mirrors, was almost too soul-crushing to keep going. Clearly drawing inspiration from Ligotti, these stories are heavy and nihilistic, but Cushing brings her own style to them. They convey beauty and nostalgia as (until now) only Gaiman could. They also tell the capabilities of human cruelty as (until now) only Ketchum could. Every story is worth a read, but a few that REALLY stood out to me are The Truth, as Told by a Bottle of Liquid Morphine (portraying our true capacity for selfishness and cruelty), The Orchard of Hanging Trees (portraying how we let cruelty happen in fear of the consequences for nonconformance), The Cat in the Cage (a tragic story about finding something to live for after it's too late), A Catechism for Aspiring Amnesiacs (a nihilistic tragedy, perhaps set in the world of Mr. Suicide), The Suffering Clown (a crushing story with a truly sick premise), and I am Moonflower (a tragic and beautiful origin story).
Funhouse Mirrors finally gave me a bit of reprieve as a reader. Though still nihilistic, this section was a bit more approachable and cleverly broke up the intense tragedy of the first section with a bit of dark humor. All three stories were great. Still dark, but funny and almost even partly cloudy for some of it!
Boudoir Mirrors steps back towards the "realistic absurd". The Peculiar Salesgirl and The Squatters definitely shocked me a bit. Both were great stories that I didn't quite anticipate. Non-Evidens was a story set in a pretty abstract concept, but was still deeply relatable and truly sorrowful.
The last story, The Mirrors, set in the Coda section all by itself, was truly beautiful. I emotionally prepared myself for the nihilistic, will-to-live-stomping storytelling of the stories of the first section. Then, the book ended... and I smiled and nearly melted.
A truly beautiful collection...
July 7, 2024
First off, let me say that I meant to finish this book a long time ago, but yet I never did... until now. (Or yesterday, when I finished reading the book.) To the author that signed and gave this to me, I apologize for taking so long. (And if you are seeing this, I became an author in my own right. But that is a story for another day.)
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's begin.
There is a lot that I could say here.
Some of my favorite stories were "I Am Moonflower", "The Choir of Beasts", "Eulogy To Be Given by Whoever's Still Sober", "Non Evidens" and the titular short story, "The Mirrors" found at the very end of this collection. It's hard to pick which is the best as they're all good in their own ways.
"I Am Moonflower" is a very pretty take about a morning glory that changes its nature and the bee it wants to protect. Both of them change and are able to embrace the night and all it has.
I feel kinda bad for everyone in "Non Evidens"- Janet Pruitt, trying to raise and emotionally care for her invisible daughter, Harper who just wants to be accepted for who and what she is, and Janet's husband Greg, who hardly seems to know how to react but is still trying his best.
I'm a little confused about "The Squatters". The sheriff who was trying to get the mysterious squatters off his property... was he actually the savage man of the group all along or was it a POV Switch on pg 197? I found it a bit hard to tell. Horror isn't usually what I read genre-wise, but I do like most if not all the stories.
Overall this is a great collection of short stories, perfect for anyone who loves horror and/or the supernatural.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's begin.
There is a lot that I could say here.
Some of my favorite stories were "I Am Moonflower", "The Choir of Beasts", "Eulogy To Be Given by Whoever's Still Sober", "Non Evidens" and the titular short story, "The Mirrors" found at the very end of this collection. It's hard to pick which is the best as they're all good in their own ways.
"I Am Moonflower" is a very pretty take about a morning glory that changes its nature and the bee it wants to protect. Both of them change and are able to embrace the night and all it has.
I feel kinda bad for everyone in "Non Evidens"- Janet Pruitt, trying to raise and emotionally care for her invisible daughter, Harper who just wants to be accepted for who and what she is, and Janet's husband Greg, who hardly seems to know how to react but is still trying his best.
I'm a little confused about "The Squatters". The sheriff who was trying to get the mysterious squatters off his property... was he actually the savage man of the group all along or was it a POV Switch on pg 197? I found it a bit hard to tell. Horror isn't usually what I read genre-wise, but I do like most if not all the stories.
Overall this is a great collection of short stories, perfect for anyone who loves horror and/or the supernatural.
August 2, 2017
What an amazing collection, each story is unique, original and masterfully written.
I like my fiction nihilistic and Nicole certainly meets this with full force and yet surprisingly the book ends of an optimistic note. Each story here has something to say, something with actual meaning and Nicole manages this with a deft hand while also delivering engrossing and memorable stories.
The notes in the back of the book were also appreciated, it was interesting to see the inspiration and ideas behind each story. I would highly recommend this collection!
I like my fiction nihilistic and Nicole certainly meets this with full force and yet surprisingly the book ends of an optimistic note. Each story here has something to say, something with actual meaning and Nicole manages this with a deft hand while also delivering engrossing and memorable stories.
The notes in the back of the book were also appreciated, it was interesting to see the inspiration and ideas behind each story. I would highly recommend this collection!
July 27, 2022
I enjoyed all of the stories in this collection. The Broken Mirrors section is particularly strong with stories that encapsulate a kind of philosophical pessimism that still manages to paint the characters sympathetically. "The Cat in the Cage," "The Company Town," "Choir of Beasts," and "The Suffering Clown" were highlights for me. I'm looking forward to reading Cushing's novels now!
March 12, 2024
Cushing is a genius at literalizing the metaphorical in a way that blends into existential horror--her sensibilities lay between Franz Kafka and Thomas Ligotti. Cushing's stories engage in both personal psychology and social commentary without being purely allegorical.
December 2, 2019
I really wanted to like this book. Heard about Nicole Cushing from authors, I respect. I tried. I read the whole book through, but the only story, I would recommend, is "The Suffering Clown".
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