The Heart Keeps Faulty Time

by Sian Griffiths

Clown parents parse their disappointment in their non-clown son and their fears for his future in a nuclear-armed world. A clockwork girl discovers a discarded and disemboweled female body. Aliens, mermaids, and dragons call to us. In ten short stories brimming with captivating imagery, Siân Griffiths, author of Borrowed Horses, spins the familiar on its heels. Unorthodox and lyric, witty and heart-felt, The Heart Keeps Faulty Time bears witness to the struggle to reconcile our visions of ourselves with the reality of our circumstances.

Genres: Short Stories

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2020

Reviews

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really delightful collection of strange short stories, flash, and micro fiction.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chapbook of flash and the occasional short stories, these mostly feel like larks, an idea pursued till it revealed itself, and then let go. Some of the stories here have a grounded resonance, like the clown parents whose son isn't interested in their life when he can make his own choices, but more are like the story about the romance novelist, which seems to be a test to not have a plot in mind but just experiment. For some reason, the story about the clockwork woman is sticking with me, which seems to be a pastiche of Jack the Ripper era London?

The stories, for all their weird conceits, are mostly conventionally written, often monologues with careful attention to the language of their narrator's milieu. They are good, but mostly feel like warm-ups for something more ambitious.

[Karenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding collection of very short stories. Almost all of them start from unusual premises, but the human sentiment rooted in the tales is so strong that even readers who are resistant to whimsy should appreciate them.

[Sunni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting and hilarious. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Sian read most of these and I loved them then, but reading them on my own was just as fun.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these stories! My favorite is "Slippers," which absolutely captivated me.

[Sonnet Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book of short stories is slim, I took my time reading through it. The stories are unusual and varied. I first found this author by reading the story "The Key Bearer's Parents" in a magazine. I loved it immediately, fascinated by how such a short story could hold so much emotion and imagination. I've read it through a number of times, finally seeking other work by that author. This collection did not disappoint. It's a book I'm sure I'll return to, while keeping my eyes out for what this author writes next.

[Matthew Mastricova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection of imaginative short fiction—each story approaches the fantastical from an incredibly human perspective. "The Key Bearer's Parents" is one of my all-time favorite short stories, combining this absurdly funny premise with lyrical and affective writing. Highly recommend.