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There's Something Macrocosmic About All of This
The short fiction in There’s Something Macrocosmic About All of This is very human and very heart-provoking.
“Hilarious, playful, profound and fierce, these stories ring with wonder at the messy world of sex and love. Prinzi's fiction is addictive because of their unflinching sensuality and sharp attention to emotional detail.” Meg Pokrass
“In There's Something Macrocosmic About All of This, Santino Prinzi looks for the big truths in everyday moments. From coming out to falling out, each of these stories is a nuanced study of human nature – full of insight and wit.” Christopher Allen
“Hilarious, playful, profound and fierce, these stories ring with wonder at the messy world of sex and love. Prinzi's fiction is addictive because of their unflinching sensuality and sharp attention to emotional detail.” Meg Pokrass
“In There's Something Macrocosmic About All of This, Santino Prinzi looks for the big truths in everyday moments. From coming out to falling out, each of these stories is a nuanced study of human nature – full of insight and wit.” Christopher Allen
- GenresFlash Fiction
40 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2018
7 people want to read
About the author
Santino Prinzi
13 books16 followersSantino Prinzi was a Co-Director of National Flash Fiction Day (UK) for a number of years, and helps organise the Flash Fiction Festival in the UK.
His first full-length collection of flash fiction, This Alone Could Save Us is available now from Ad Hoc Fiction.
His flash fiction pamphlet, There's Something Macrocosmic About All of This was published by V-Press in June 2018. Dots, and other flashes of perception, was his fiction mini-collection/chapbook of flash fiction and was published by The Nottingham Review Press in September 2016.
To find out more, please visit his website: Santino Prinzi
His first full-length collection of flash fiction, This Alone Could Save Us is available now from Ad Hoc Fiction.
His flash fiction pamphlet, There's Something Macrocosmic About All of This was published by V-Press in June 2018. Dots, and other flashes of perception, was his fiction mini-collection/chapbook of flash fiction and was published by The Nottingham Review Press in September 2016.
To find out more, please visit his website: Santino Prinzi
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2019
An exploration of homosexuality, love and relationships in all their various forms. Heartbreak, bewilderment and complexity infuse these fine flash pieces, creating sparks that resonate. The cult of veganism is explored in Veganuary. Calls For Ronan reveals the close bond between mother and son being tested. There are surprises, crackles of dry wit and mischievousness amongst these pages. I loved it.
May 27, 2019
A reading experience that packs a punch, Santino Prinzi’s second collection There’s Something Macrocosmic About All of This is not unlike his first with all its poignancy, bite and sensuality. Shorter than his previous work Dots (but just as assured), Prinzi toys with an assortment of themes ranging from sexual identity to child neglect - and he even manages to get inside the mind of a tree!
As a whole, this collection feels tighter and better balanced than the previous one, and is great for reading in one sitting. The stand-outs for me are: ‘He’s Become Addicted to Green Tea’; ‘I’m Growing my New Boyfriend in a Petri Dish’; ‘Rock Cake’ (this one’s very dark and I love); ‘Listen to the Body’ (which has an intriguing, somewhat-Modernist writing style); the title short itself and, one from the first collection and a personal favourite, ‘Calls for Ronan’ (which breaks my heart each time I re-read it).
Prinzi definitely has a voice: one that is unashamedly candid, sharp, often with a touch of sadness but in equal parts tinged with a tongue-in-cheek humour. His strength as a writer lies in his fearlessness in taking on surreal subject matter (and succeeding) and for his frank explorations of identity, relationships and sexuality (particularly homosexuality). His work makes you feel like a voyeur, like you’re reading something personal, something that should be left alone - but the impulse to keep reading is too strong to fight.
Looking forward to more work from this guy in the future. Also, if you’re growing a boyfriend in a Petri dish, mind growing one for me too?
As a whole, this collection feels tighter and better balanced than the previous one, and is great for reading in one sitting. The stand-outs for me are: ‘He’s Become Addicted to Green Tea’; ‘I’m Growing my New Boyfriend in a Petri Dish’; ‘Rock Cake’ (this one’s very dark and I love); ‘Listen to the Body’ (which has an intriguing, somewhat-Modernist writing style); the title short itself and, one from the first collection and a personal favourite, ‘Calls for Ronan’ (which breaks my heart each time I re-read it).
Prinzi definitely has a voice: one that is unashamedly candid, sharp, often with a touch of sadness but in equal parts tinged with a tongue-in-cheek humour. His strength as a writer lies in his fearlessness in taking on surreal subject matter (and succeeding) and for his frank explorations of identity, relationships and sexuality (particularly homosexuality). His work makes you feel like a voyeur, like you’re reading something personal, something that should be left alone - but the impulse to keep reading is too strong to fight.
Looking forward to more work from this guy in the future. Also, if you’re growing a boyfriend in a Petri dish, mind growing one for me too?
June 26, 2018
When Tino Prinzi's pamphlet of flash fiction arrived, it didn't make it to my 'to read' pile. I read it fresh from the envelope, standing up, waiting to take my coat off. I read it when I should have been doing something else.
Many of the pieces are first-person narratives. The storytellers lead us into their lives and leave us gasping, while they navigate conflict.
Several characters inhabit an LGBT world, but I would still have liked the way Prinzi writes and the raw reality of his characters, even if he weren't speaking my language. There's something here that has a wider appeal.
The author's style spans the gritty reality of surprise sexual encounters as in 'Where We Aren't', to the lyrical symbolism in 'There's an Apple Caught in a River Current and Naturally I Think About Us'.
In 'The Copper-haired Girl', the extra distance achieved by third-person point-of-view, paradoxically allows a greater emotional connection with the protagonist. The reader faces a catalogue of sorrow in this longer story, told in a single paragraph.
The greatest 'punch in the guts' comes in 'Calls for Ronan', where Prinzi foreshadows just enough for the reader to enjoy a supreme 'ah ha' moment, then weep for the characters.
I recommend this book. Here's an author who's not afraid to connect with the sensual.
Many of the pieces are first-person narratives. The storytellers lead us into their lives and leave us gasping, while they navigate conflict.
Several characters inhabit an LGBT world, but I would still have liked the way Prinzi writes and the raw reality of his characters, even if he weren't speaking my language. There's something here that has a wider appeal.
The author's style spans the gritty reality of surprise sexual encounters as in 'Where We Aren't', to the lyrical symbolism in 'There's an Apple Caught in a River Current and Naturally I Think About Us'.
In 'The Copper-haired Girl', the extra distance achieved by third-person point-of-view, paradoxically allows a greater emotional connection with the protagonist. The reader faces a catalogue of sorrow in this longer story, told in a single paragraph.
The greatest 'punch in the guts' comes in 'Calls for Ronan', where Prinzi foreshadows just enough for the reader to enjoy a supreme 'ah ha' moment, then weep for the characters.
I recommend this book. Here's an author who's not afraid to connect with the sensual.
December 31, 2022
Insightful and evocative.
August 16, 2018
Bold, often funny and at times heart breaking, Prinzi explores themes of sex and love. Although the focus of the collection is LGBTQ+, this is incidental to the stories – they are first and foremost about what it means to be a human being (or a tree!). Strong dialogue is a feature of Prinzi’s collection and I also very much enjoyed the stories containing humour – the last line in 'I’m Growing My New Boyfriend in a Petri Dish' made me laugh out loud. Pathos too is handled really well, with 'We’re All Supposed to Know These Things' and 'Calls for Ronan' being particularly poignant.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews