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Urban Creatures
In this, her third collection of short stories, Sarah Gray occupies the edge of reality, dexterously inhabiting and defying form and genre. Gray’s stories shift from the unsettling to the surreal to the frightening, all cut with her characteristic black humour.
Urban survival makes creatures of us all. Clamouring for love, terrified of boredom and anxious for success, we fight a futile battle.
Primal urges feed the city, stalking its inhabitants. From a psychotherapist gorging on tragedy to a grief-stricken father searching for his daughter's lost soul, humanity’s subterranean secrets and shames are unearthed.
Urban survival makes creatures of us all. Clamouring for love, terrified of boredom and anxious for success, we fight a futile battle.
Primal urges feed the city, stalking its inhabitants. From a psychotherapist gorging on tragedy to a grief-stricken father searching for his daughter's lost soul, humanity’s subterranean secrets and shames are unearthed.
220 pages, Paperback
Published May 25, 2020
4 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Gray
21 books24 followersSarah Gray has been storytelling all of her professional life. As a writer and filmmaker she is delighted by what she fears and loves to explore the darkly comic side of the human psyche. In a scary and illogical world there is plenty to allow her imagination free reign.
Master of the short story, her three collections - Surface Tension, Half Life and Urban Creatures - are a resplendent trilogy with curious stories that cause disquiet and heartache with a chilling sting of pleasure.
Stories enable us to face the worst that can happen and then get back to everyday life pretending the terrible stuff only happens to other people. Most of the time…
"Half Life is quite something. I just loved Sarah's idea of what it means to be a ghost." - Tracy Chevalier
"Sarah writes beautifully and the sense of foreboding or unease is brilliantly conveyed. I've never read anything quite like it, although I'd suggest echoes of Mary Shelley or Edgar Allan Poe." - Clare Balding
Master of the short story, her three collections - Surface Tension, Half Life and Urban Creatures - are a resplendent trilogy with curious stories that cause disquiet and heartache with a chilling sting of pleasure.
Stories enable us to face the worst that can happen and then get back to everyday life pretending the terrible stuff only happens to other people. Most of the time…
"Half Life is quite something. I just loved Sarah's idea of what it means to be a ghost." - Tracy Chevalier
"Sarah writes beautifully and the sense of foreboding or unease is brilliantly conveyed. I've never read anything quite like it, although I'd suggest echoes of Mary Shelley or Edgar Allan Poe." - Clare Balding
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 7, 2020
Strange, compelling and deliciously unsettling, this is one of the best contemporary collections of short stories that I've ever read.
Grey is a master of deviance, her characters and narration veering into dark and unexpected places, from an obsessive wig maker (or really wig taker) to a floundering Elvis impersonator. She rarely needs more than a few tightly wound pages of lust or mystery to draw out each tale and yet this economy of storytelling doesn’t skimp on emotional depth. While the stories occasionally go to some strange and buried places, they’re not cold; Grey never looses sight of the essential pathos or joy of her subjects, especially when she’s dealing with sensitive and fraught subjects.
It reminds me particularly of another short story collection, Fen. While Grey stays away from the explicitly fantastical, in both the modern and the archaic mingle in revealing ways. I certainly couldn’t put down either until I’d finished.
I can’t go into too much more detail - part of what I enjoyed so much about Urban Creatures is how reliably unpredictable and surprising it is - but I urge you to give this a go. It’s certainly an excellent gateway into contemporary English short storytelling, even if that isn’t normally your cup of tea. Plus, it has some gorgeous illustrations. I got the e-book version so inevitably they’re a little compressed, but even on a small kindle screen they’re a fantastic accompaniment to each story, a kind premonition before you’ve begun and something to reflect on when you’re finished.
Grey is a master of deviance, her characters and narration veering into dark and unexpected places, from an obsessive wig maker (or really wig taker) to a floundering Elvis impersonator. She rarely needs more than a few tightly wound pages of lust or mystery to draw out each tale and yet this economy of storytelling doesn’t skimp on emotional depth. While the stories occasionally go to some strange and buried places, they’re not cold; Grey never looses sight of the essential pathos or joy of her subjects, especially when she’s dealing with sensitive and fraught subjects.
It reminds me particularly of another short story collection, Fen. While Grey stays away from the explicitly fantastical, in both the modern and the archaic mingle in revealing ways. I certainly couldn’t put down either until I’d finished.
I can’t go into too much more detail - part of what I enjoyed so much about Urban Creatures is how reliably unpredictable and surprising it is - but I urge you to give this a go. It’s certainly an excellent gateway into contemporary English short storytelling, even if that isn’t normally your cup of tea. Plus, it has some gorgeous illustrations. I got the e-book version so inevitably they’re a little compressed, but even on a small kindle screen they’re a fantastic accompaniment to each story, a kind premonition before you’ve begun and something to reflect on when you’re finished.
October 13, 2020
Urban Creatures is a collection of short stories that deal with the human condition, but what's really interesting about them is how widely they range. In some of them you can find gothic horror comedy, some are pose-poetry and not necessarily too easy to understand, like the actual short story "Urban Creatures", some of them have your classic thriller twist (a love story) and others are just about more common themes such as a young girl realizing what's going on in a family. They all deal with different aspects of what it's like to be human and to know and understand other human beings, which explains the title of the book. They all take place in cities, in some dark and scary places. Like Half Life, there are beautiful illustrations which really add to the storytelling. Highly recommended.
June 3, 2020
I'm a fan of short stories. I don't quite understand why they sell better and short story writers aren't as respected as novelists. This collection is one of the reasons why I love short stories so much. Sarah Gray has written tightly narrated, blackly humorous, and character-driven short stories, frequently with a twist.
The stories also range in writing style, which shows the range of her skill and her craftsmanship. So at one end you've got a straight narrative, at another you have an extended family fight/negotiation over food partially told with pictures of meals and menus, and finally you have a kind of grief-stricken stream of consciousness cry of pain. It's hard to pigeon hole as a result. So let's just call it fabulous.
The stories also range in writing style, which shows the range of her skill and her craftsmanship. So at one end you've got a straight narrative, at another you have an extended family fight/negotiation over food partially told with pictures of meals and menus, and finally you have a kind of grief-stricken stream of consciousness cry of pain. It's hard to pigeon hole as a result. So let's just call it fabulous.
June 8, 2020
Each story in Urban Creatures emerges more quietly unsettling than the last as tight vignettes unfold microcosms of modern British life. Gray excels at articulating the minute tensions and passions which muddle our most intimate relationships. Whether extended family, psychotherapists or ex-girlfriends the mundane continually bleeds into the uncanny in a manner only possible in short fiction. Always darkly funny, each fiction offers something new, though always perfectly wrapped and suitably bitter.
June 6, 2020
Having read Sarah Gray's previous short story collections, I knew I would be in for a treat. This collection is filled with beautiful and unsettling stories and Gray manages again and again to draw the reader in. Especially now, it's great to escape for a little bit and completely immerse yourself in these stories (and the incredible illustrations).
June 3, 2020
I like short stories because I can get through them quickly. They are short and snappy with twists in them. They kind of reminded me of Stephen King. Characters are both normal and larger than life. You recognise and yet you don't. They're great reads at the end of the day.
June 4, 2020
Sarah Gray's short stories are kind of spooky and twisted and weird, while being real page turners. Her characters are mostly women and I feel like I know them, or know someone close enough to them to make the experience of reading them even weirder.
June 6, 2020
Unexpectedly great reading. I was expecting some spooky stories . Instead I got inside twisted human mind. Absolutely great reading.
June 6, 2020
Mixing the humerous and the harrowing, this collection was wonderful
June 8, 2020
Sarah's writes with great intelligence yet with a lightness of touch, leaving the reader unsettled but satisfied. Very much enjoying this book of short stories by my favourite writer of the genre. It just goes to show that even if the body fails in its physical abilities, as in Sarah's case, that the curious mind and its ability to create can continue to flourish and expand.
June 4, 2020
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this collection of short stories and it truly blew me away. I’ve loved Sarah’s story-telling across her collections and this one certainly doesn’t disappoint. A must read. Sarah's ability to draw you in is incredible.
October 4, 2022
The first story ("Killing Rachel") is the weakest. It's a very on-the-nose allegory about how some of the afflictions we suffer are actually for our own good. Not one of my favorite themes. Not the sort of eerie, unsettling mood I was hoping for based on the cover art, either.
Fortunately, the rest of the book delivers. "Crowning Glory" reads like the tale of a serial killer, but the character doesn't murder her victims - she cuts off their hair. In "Silences", a girl struggles with the divide between her beloved but strangely isolated father and her delightful but estranged extended family. "Immersion" shows the world through the eyes of a suicidal patient trying to escape a tragic memory. "A Love Story" is a story of emotional manipulation, with a perfectly twisted final sentence.
I think the best story is "Half Life", which depicts the effects of a slowly-progressing fatal disease on a young woman's life.
Her emotional journey continues after death, when she attempts to reconnect with her family as a ghost.
Fortunately, the rest of the book delivers. "Crowning Glory" reads like the tale of a serial killer, but the character doesn't murder her victims - she cuts off their hair. In "Silences", a girl struggles with the divide between her beloved but strangely isolated father and her delightful but estranged extended family. "Immersion" shows the world through the eyes of a suicidal patient trying to escape a tragic memory. "A Love Story" is a story of emotional manipulation, with a perfectly twisted final sentence.
I think the best story is "Half Life", which depicts the effects of a slowly-progressing fatal disease on a young woman's life.
Everything about life had changed. Her assumptions about her future had been destroyed. Gone was the "positive illusion" of a predictable and controllable world. She'd never get old and her parents would outlive her. Nothing made sense. People around her looked alien, were alien. Their experience no longer coincided with hers and she felt outside of everyday pleasures, ordinary worries and trivial concerns.
Her emotional journey continues after death, when she attempts to reconnect with her family as a ghost.
April 1, 2023
The general concept of the book was luring, and I enjoyed the nihilistic emotional response some of the stories interrogated out of me. Some of the stories also had plot twists I would not have seen coming, and for such short works, I do applaud Sarah for being able to deliver them so naturally.
In terms of cons, I think more immersive world building would have been great. I loved the casual mention of the Tube and so forth in some stories, and more descriptiveness would have set the stage far better in my opinion.
Artwork was also lovely, and actually inspired me to take an intro art class at my uni. Fielding Alodie is very talented as well. :)
In terms of cons, I think more immersive world building would have been great. I loved the casual mention of the Tube and so forth in some stories, and more descriptiveness would have set the stage far better in my opinion.
Artwork was also lovely, and actually inspired me to take an intro art class at my uni. Fielding Alodie is very talented as well. :)
May 28, 2021
Urban creatures is a collection of short stories with the concept of life and death. Reading this book of short stories gave me goosebumps all over. Each story has its own element that gives off a scary vibe. Some have the element of humour, anxiety, depression, family and others. The stories are thought provoking.
I enjoyed reading it
I enjoyed reading it
June 17, 2020
Ten glorious, unsettling, beautifully crafted, clever, thought-provoking tales. The exquisite design and illustrations are the finishing touch. Sarah’s use of language is mesmerising and her stories always a treat.
November 22, 2023
Oh wow that was fun. Unnerving, interesting. Love love the artwork and the cover.
September 4, 2022
Urban Creatures was an unsettling collection of short stories dealing with life & death & the space between.
I wouldn’t necessarily call these stories scary, but they are raw and uncomfortable and offer a chance to reflect. I really enjoyed Gray’s more experimental works and stylistic prose, as well as the two pieces at the end of the collection that dealt very directly with her own experience with terminal illness.
The first few stories felt a little detached & uneven. But as the collection progressed, the writing became deeper and more vulnerable and therefore eerier.
There’s a huge variety in style and length and topic here (a big plus for me). The narrators are never clear antagonists or protagonists - it’s all a bit murky and morally gray and I enjoyed sitting with that.
Gray has a unique voice and a lot to say. There are some concepts from this collection that will be sticking with me for a very long time.
CW: death, grief, murder, terminal illness, chronic illness, medical trauma, mental illness, child abuse, pedophilia, ableism, animal death, cancer, confinement, emotional abuse, fatphobia, miscarriage, pregnancy, stalking, suicidal thoughts, toxic relationship/friendship
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
I wouldn’t necessarily call these stories scary, but they are raw and uncomfortable and offer a chance to reflect. I really enjoyed Gray’s more experimental works and stylistic prose, as well as the two pieces at the end of the collection that dealt very directly with her own experience with terminal illness.
The first few stories felt a little detached & uneven. But as the collection progressed, the writing became deeper and more vulnerable and therefore eerier.
There’s a huge variety in style and length and topic here (a big plus for me). The narrators are never clear antagonists or protagonists - it’s all a bit murky and morally gray and I enjoyed sitting with that.
Gray has a unique voice and a lot to say. There are some concepts from this collection that will be sticking with me for a very long time.
CW: death, grief, murder, terminal illness, chronic illness, medical trauma, mental illness, child abuse, pedophilia, ableism, animal death, cancer, confinement, emotional abuse, fatphobia, miscarriage, pregnancy, stalking, suicidal thoughts, toxic relationship/friendship
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
June 1, 2022
A phenomenal book; beautifully written, magically illustrated. It's not often you find a book that is as wonderful to look at as it is to read.
June 1, 2022
Great book! The stories remind me of Shirley Jackson, and fantastic illustrations by Alodie Fielding.
October 16, 2022
Great stories and beautiful artwork.
November 10, 2022
These stories were not as spooky as I expected, but they were still really good.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews