The Same Havoc

by Sam Le Butt (Editor), Lola Gaztañaga Baggen (Contributor), Sofía Ballesteros (Contributor)

The Same Havoc is a new anthology of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and artwork exploring the theme of 'home', produced by The Selkie Publications CIC, a press dedicated to amplifying historically marginalised and/or underrepresented voices. Startlingly prescient in these times, the voices in this collection invite you to consider a multitude of homes: from places to people; from safety and nostalgia to discomfort and fear; prying into the notion of belonging and self-making with an intensity that brings moments of comedy, of grief, of vulnerability, and of the strength and bravery needed to make safety for ourselves and for the ones we love.


Thank you to the contributors:

Nick Askew • Lola Gaztañaga Baggen • Sofía Ballesteros • Kirsteen Bell • Ruth Bradshaw • Sasha Saben Callaghan • Jennifer Dickinson • Luciana Erregue-Sacchi • Mariann Evans • Jude Gray • Toonika Guha • Claire Hinchliffe • Alexis Keir • Milagros Lasarte • Wes Lee • Quinn Lui • Melanie Maclennan • Ethel Maqeda • Juliette F. Martin • Jan McCarthy • Becca McGilloway • Sasha R. Moghimi-Kian • Christopher Moore • Vina Nguyen • Alice Pain • Charlotte Pain • Nathan Pascu • Ely Percy • Charlotte Rattray • Stan Reed • Aimée Rogers • Lucy Rose • Shivani Sekar • Judith Skillman • Susan Taylor • John Tinneny • Lydia Unsworth • Marjorie Waterman • Alexandra Ye

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2020

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I am one of the contributors of this anthology, so I may be a tad biased with my review.

I'm not good at reviewing things, so I'll keep this short: this collection of writings feels incredibly powerful, especially as these pieces were written before the whole COVID-19 situation and the anthology actually released during the pandemic. It's full of ideas and feelings of home, of what that means to all the different people who contributed to this. It's so intriguing to read through all of these texts - you get so many different sensations, and it really makes you think about us people as a whole, about how we're similar but not at all at the same time.

And if you're not convinced to give it a try, it's FREE. You get to read through it all and (possibly) experience all of these thoughts and feelings at no price at all other than the time you take to do so. What are you waiting for?

[Vina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only are the stories, poems, and artwork selected for this anthology of beautifully varied style and tone, they build upon one another in a way that forces you to stop and take a breath for your aching heart. This anthology not only pivots around the theme of home, it sings of the familiarity and reinvents it. Cheers to the team that brought all these creators together. Thank you. ❤️

[Carly]

I enjoyed this whole collection, but a couple months after finishing it, a few pieces particularly stand out/have stuck with me:

"I Love You Sugarplum" by Alexandre Ye

A short story in which cultural and generational differences come into tension when a first-generation Chinese American family decides to adopt a greyhound called Sugarplum Fairy. At first, the young son, Kevin, thinks he got what he wanted, but as time goes on, he is not so sure.

...with Sugarplum Fairy beside me, I experienced a greater sense of normalcy and belonging. I felt special, even. [...] For the first time in my life, other boys and girls would come up to me and say hello, asking to pet him. My family didn't seem out of place anymore -- Sugarplum Fairy elevated us within the community.

"Left" by Ely Percy

A short story about two best friends who are separated when one's family moves from Scotland down to the Lake District, and the remaining one must navigate their changing friendship(s) with care.

Kirsty, she said, Ah promise yi yi'll always be ma best friend. Well, ah said, When am ah ever gaunnae get tae see yi. Yi can come down an visit me at the weekends an school holidays an stuff, she said. Yir forgettin ma da disnae have a motor, ah said. Well, mine does. Aye, an he's also got a restaurant tae run. Well, said Harpreet, We can still write.

"Winter Threads" by Susan Taylor

This poem lends the anthology its title. I loved the auditory imagery of icy branches clinking against one another and the references to wool and moths (my knitwear-loving shoulders shudder, though!).

"I Meet the Gods" by Charlotte Rattray

Magical realism or a maladaptive daydream? The narrator of this story lives her life surrounded and counselled by the Greek gods. This one was my favourite piece in the collection. I love how it captures the magic and true meaningfulness of walking through life with a headful of characters and alternate worlds.

I blow out the candles on my birthday cake. Thirty, Zeus says. It's been a decade. I shake my head. Time is not linear, I say, no time has passed, and yet eternity is just around the corner. Athena kisses me on the cheek. Mortal years don't matter to those who run with the gods.

[Fariha Khayyam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a heartwarming read, especially during these times - when "home" has evoked all kinds of feelings and emotions. The contributors have a done a great job at capturing those feelings and the Selkie Team who brought them together in this anthology.

Thank you to The Selkie Publications for providing me a review copy.