Even That Wildest Hope

by Seyward Goodhand

The highly anticipated debut short story collection by Journey Prize finalist Seyward Goodhand bursts with vibrant, otherworldly characters—wax girls and gods-amongmen, artists on opposite sides of a war, aimless plutocrats and anarchist urchins—who are sometimes wondrous, often grotesque, and always driven by passions and yearnings common to us all. Stylistic and primordial, Even That Wildest Hope is a chaotic but always satisfying fabulist journey in the baroque tradition of Angela Carter, Carmen Maria Machado, and Ted Chiang.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2019

Reviews

[Jypsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even That Wildest Hope is a strange, yet fascinating, collection of short stories. They are bizarre are quirky in a way that kind of makes you believe some could be true. We're in the Upside Down. Attention getting yet terrifying! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Liz Harmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am blown away by every single one of these masterful, heartfelt, bizarre, and fascinating stories. All intensity and beauty and intelligence.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing read, a wonderful collection of short stories, from the weird to the wonderful , a completely different collection from the norm. Stories that make you think and leave you wondering. Very well written and very thought provoking and even scary at times, but always entertaining.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Wendle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodhand certainly has a wonderful ability to take basic human feelings and struggles and portray them in bizarre and unusual narratives. Emotions made physical, philosophical concepts became human, and moral debates turned into fairy tales.

I loved a lot of the stories in this book. Several were must-keep-reading good. So I Can Win, the Galatrax must Die, about an... unusual... superfood and the lengths people go to to consume it. The Fur Trader's Daughter, about family, love, and what truly makes us human. The Gamins of Winnipeg, about staying true to yourself verses playing the game of life. The Parachute, about passion and success and jealously. Hansel, Gretel, and Katie, a wonderful twist on the classic that kept me guessing till the very end.

Every story provided a lot of food for thought and although I have my favourites, each and every story has stayed with me in its own way.

Overall this book was fairly mixed bag. Some strong 4- and 5-star stories, but definitely a few 2- and 3-stars as well. Hence the middle-ground rating of 3.5. I think everyone will find a story to love in this book, but not every story will be someone's cup of tea.

A slightly longer review can be found on my book blog: Marvel at Words.

[Lolly K Dandeneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
'Because her pleasure looks so small, I suspect Agvagvat of thriving on minutiae.'

The stories in this novel are intriguing, sometimes peculiar particularly when you enter the realm of the galatrax, So I Can Win, the Galatrax must die. A beloved, woodland creature with a gamey taste just going about living the life of ‘fuzzy innocents’ until… How many stories can set off your gag reflex and sympathy at the same time? It is What Bothers a Woman of the World, The Fur Trader’s Daughter and Hansel, Gretel and Katie that had me riveted. The stories do flirt with the fairy-tale realm but if you pick it clean you feel the hum of reality within’ the lines. Wax girls, “if she’s bad I can melt her back down into wax”, are we all at some point being molded, others trying to form our personalities so we don’t spoil or turn? “Don’t stare, what kind of daughter are you? Pervert.” This story caused a revolt inside of me, is it generational, the type of girl you’re meant to be, what kind of daughter are you, indeed? It turns brutal, as dark and grim as any genuine fairy-tale. There is a line, “My father erupted off the couch” and the violence of it, what writing!

What Bothers a Woman of the World is painful, another creature following a narrator around but just what is this creature that ‘nothing sticks to.’ Life causes the mutilation, hope survives still somewhere hard inside of a woman, this is by far the best story in the collection. We’re half alive in there somewhere, lying in wait for a time when being pleasing isn’t instinctual. Mother, batten down the hatches of your eternal hope, get on with life, want not.

Hansel, Gretel and Katie, is a bitterness, a raging hunger and someone must provide reluctant nourishment, if not love. This is what it means to try and remain human, this tale is a little confection with a bite at the center. Maybe the best we are, even though it could be the worst, sometimes has to be enough. I wasn’t engaged in every story, but the ones that burrowed in, didn’t let go. I think Seyward Goodhand can whip up a hell of a story and I have my fingers crossed that a full blown novel will hit the shelves one day. Some of the stories flirt with horror, because what is uglier than what is put upon us or the shame we carry? There are always ghosts of our actions waiting in the night, sometimes people, sometimes just thoughts. Yes read it.

Publication Date: September 16, 2019

Invisible Publishing

[Niki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie, I had to struggle through this short story collection, and I really shouldn't have, considering how small it is, and how relevant to my interests the story subjects are. I particularly struggled through "Enkidu" (and it was the very FIRST story! Setting the tone for the rest of my reading experience, I guess) and "Pastoral" the most.

The best story was, by far, "The Fur Trader's Daughter". Absolutely excellent, and it'll undoubtedly stay with me for a while.

**I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**

[Jadey (the Bookish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eclectic collection of strange short stories, ranging from the gruesome to the quite charming, all invoking strong emotion in the reader.

Enkidu ★★☆☆☆
So I Can Win, the Galatrax Must Die ★★★☆☆
The Fur Trader's Daughter ★★★★★
Felix Baumgartner's Guardian Angel ★★★☆☆
What Bothers a Woman of the World ★★★★☆
Pastoral ★★★★☆
The Gamins of Winnipeg ★★★★★
Embassy Row ★★★☆☆
The Parachute ★★★★☆
Hansel, Gretel, and Katie ★★★★★

Average: 3.8

I'll admit, when I first started reading this collection of stories, that started with 'Enkidu', I had a sinking feeling that it wasn't the book for me. However I got through the first story, which had the vibe of a religious mythology origin story (which is the kind of thing I usually like but couldn't get into on this occasion), and was pleasantly surprised! Each story invoked a strong sense of emotion in me. In particular my favourites were The Fur Trader's Daughter, The Gamins of Winnipeg, and Hansel, Gretel, and Katie. I think what these stories had in common, apart from the Gamins of Winnipeg, is that they all had an air of fairytale (with Hansel, Gretel, and Katie obviously being a reimagining of the classic Hansel and Gretel). This is also something I enjoyed about Pastoral too. I think this is the kind of story Goodhand writes really well; although the strangeness that creeps out of the other stories is a particular highlight too.

If you like the kind of stories that will stick with you, I definitely recommend this collection. In a nutshell I would describe this book as strange, thought provoking, engrossing, and wonderful.

I received a free copy of this from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Even That Wildest Hope' delves deep into the realms of fantasy within this collection. Comprising of 10 short stories, they are wonderfully varied, ranging from angels and mysterious creatures and wax girls. This was not a collection of happy stories, but instead a showcase of dangerous and destructive characters that are developed well within these stories, some of which are remarkably short.

All of them left me slightly unsettled, and the strong sense that Goodhand's writing is both sophisticated and quirky.

I'll definitely be interested in anything further from her, and would be interested to see her foray into full-length fiction. For me, this collection - although interesting - was not my typical cup of tea, hence the 3 stars, but they are still worth a read for anyone who likes fantasy.

[Agnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not for the casual reader; but that doesn't mean it's not worth reading. One has to be willing to fully immerse themselves in the bizarre, Magic school bus-like ride into Goodhand's prose, which goes from a kind of mythical Babylonian lusciousness to a terse, soft sweetness. I was startled by these stories and am genuinely surprised this book has not received more attention yet. The mythology is brilliant, universal and compelling. The archetypes are fresh. The stories themselves seem to come from a mind that isn't quite human, must exist in an otherworld. If you love myths, freshness, Kafka, didn't get discouraged when reading epic ballads and Japanese mythology, then go for it. If you want something light, maybe don't. There's some gruesomeness here, something brutal, but also a bit of romance, a bit of science fiction hope.

[Lucy Goodfellow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gotta say this was a weird book.
Like all short story collections, the quality of each story differed dramatically. Some stories were very well written but ended too abruptly to be memorable for anything other than that sudden ending. And others were so short that there was so little semblance of character to be explored within them that it made me eager to move onto the next one to get it out the way.
One was just so nonsensical I skipped it altogether.
Writing being bizarre is good but a book still must maintain a person's interest so they aren't skipping chapters to get to the end quicker.

My favourite of the short stories centred around the Wax girls and this it was brought that rating up from one star. I would read another book by Goodhand but perhaps not another short story collection.

I was sent this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short collection of quirky fantasy stories by an author new to me. Some are modern and almost cross into science fiction. Others are more like their own fairy tales. The right reader is going to love these, and I can't help but wonder what it'll be like when the author is ready to tackle a full-length book.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing and entertaining read. I appreciated this collection of well written, quirky and weird stories.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Amber Sherlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of varied, quirky and strange stories, perfect for any fan of the fantastical and bizarre. I would love to see Goodhand bringing out a full-length fiction book by the calibre of these short stories.

[Heike Lettrari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooh - these were fun stories! Very imaginative and creative, each of these stories offered something different - with fable-like and fairy tale characters - both charming and monstrous, light and dark. These were a great deal of fun.

[Elna · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Received via NetGalley for review*

An interesting collection with many different genres and styles. Unfortunately, the various stories didn't really engage me.

[Brenna]

Review forthcoming in EVENT Magazine.

[Amber Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great short stories, that will keep you entertained and questioning..

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are like spider webs tangling up in your hair that you can't brush out. Great collection.

[Navya Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

there is no way to describe this book better than pauline holdstock already did on the back cover. an easy and quick read, so everyone go read it because I need to have discourse urgently

[Sheldon Birnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn that was a good read!

[b · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

Goodhand gets blurbed on the back of the book as a fabulist in the tradition of Angela Carter, which I guess works, but Goodhand isn’t hardline goofy the same way; Goodhand’s writing here is full of reinventive play with classic ur-texts like The Epic of Gilgamesh and Hansel & Gretel, but it’s heavier than any Carter I read (which I guess isn’t to say it’s humorless, rather that it’s simply a little less Ha hA nice one then Carter’s traditional wit). Many of the references and particular little inversions and subversions surely went over my ill-read head, and the prose is often heavy and stiff (though always precisely calculated, with the exception of a single frustratingly inelegant bad edit in the entire book, a SINGLE blip of lazy prose). The book feels at times like a deeply challenging read, but Goodhand doesn’t ever totally abandon us; sometimes we move away from the intensely rich vernacular and immersive ever-combusting ever-mythic ambient tone for something as clear as this passage: “Fine cuts in the bottom of the tub—from the resistant claws of a pet as it was bathed?—have become packed over the years with a brownish sludge, so that looking down from this angle as she’s doing now, the tub becomes a map of the Arctic. White plains, stone ridges. The drain a deep, magnetic mouth. She frequently draws romantic analogies like these. They make her feel close to nature. The weightlifter has never really stopped believing in magic, which is why, in her heart of hearts, eating these galatrae lacks a certain finality. Like most well-meaning but competitive people, she adheres to the idea that everything folds back into the one.” None of Goodhand’s heroes ever seem to be freaking out no matter how weird or bad the world gets (most of what we recognize as fantasy seems to be assumed fact in the world-building here), in fact most of them sound morose or exhausted or skewered, and while that might seem like a downer, I am thrilled to see this highly inventive and slippery brutalist world tick along. My favourite story is The Parachute 🪂, the most contemporary “historical fiction” take of the lot, because I think here you get your first glimpse of Goodhand the author’s brain-space, aka, the story seems to just show the things the author likes and is interested in and to do all the things she’s so so so good at (a jumbling of familiar elements to tell an uncanny new story, huge historical personalities) while also grounded in actual opinions, or at least the exhibition of others’ opinions (specifically Weil’s essay), instead of an almost sterile, hands-off (maybe Homeric?) narratorial ur-style; The Parachute was the story that had the most tension, felt the least inevitable, the most surprising. The weakest story in my opinion (the book is so good so I am being very nitpicky) is The Gamins of Winnipeg, which gives us one of those moments to catch our breath like I cited above, but here kind of uglily trots out the superficial “meaning of the story”: “At that moment, Lene understood that her own real mission had been to eradicate the gamin spirit wherever she found it—not our of hatred, but from the fear that attends a great love.” This elevator pitch aside, the book seems pretty much wholly perfectly engineered. In some of the back-to-the-land fairytale-esque efforts there feels like an apocalyptic elsewhere that everyone has fled from, Canadian cities mentioned offhand in Pastoral, and the prairies and their cursed petroliana behind the barn in Hansel, Gretel and Katie (where something reminiscent of the irl wheat board in its most terrible later years comes to cull yields and dominate an entire farming community with fear). I can hardly believe this book exists. This is that kind of great writing that seems as though it’s impossible, but here it is! I’m so excited to read more stories from Goodhand, assuming she doesn’t run out of more “old stuff” to tell in her own booming, terrifying voice.