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Small Monsters
All it’s life, a small monster with emerald scales has been source of never-ending food to larger and more powerful creatures who feast on the small monster’s limbs each time one regrows. This is the story of how the small monster meets an industrious artist and reforms into someone new—someone who can’t be eaten.
Content warning for fictional depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
Content warning for fictional depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 20, 2021
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161 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
November 5, 2021
One morning, after they had devoured the remnants of a mountain lion, the small monster spoke.
Why do you eat me? it said.
Its parent lolled onto one side, spines bristling. Gobbets of meat warmed its belly and weighed it down, and it felt pleasant toward the world and its whelp. Because I am hungry.
But why not eat—the small monster took a breath—your own leg?
Silly. I am your parent. I birthed you. You are mine.
But it hurts.
It grows back.
And neither said a word more.
man, this little monster can't catch a break! it's 'rescued' from a limb-munching parent by a beastie who promises to only monch a limb if it can't find a meal less destructive or humiliating to consume, but once the beastie gets a taste of how delicious little monster's little limbs are, it's MONCH CITY until the little monster is whisked away from its clutches by a bird, for a delicious-morsel price.
then, little monster's sympathies are roused by a wounded creature it tries to help, which—predictably—ends terribly,
and then it meets a little crab-critter; an artist/therapist/hippie type who teaches the monster how to protect itself from monchers of the world and channel its pain into something beautiful.
None of us can change what has happened to us, the clawed creature said. But if we are lucky, we live. If we are lucky, we do not lose more than we can afford. Much regrows. Claws, tail, teeth, even the vaporous stuff the poets call soul. And bitter experience provides material for art. Ask a shipwreck. Ask an oyster.
there're some visits by ghosts of trauma past (the left-behind sibling part is particularly well-done), and some confronting prior injustices and it's definitely a dymanic story.
however, it's a little smack-you-in-the-face with its metaphors for my tastes, although i get why others love it.
and before you start feeling all awwww for this poor l'il monster, please note:
A seagull stooped at the seal carcass. The small monster broke its neck with a blow.
Wish I could do that, the clawed creature said.
Eat, the small monster said. You’ll be big enough, one day.
first of all, yikes. second of all, while i am no apologist for birds, if you kill a seal, take a couple of bites out of it, and just leave the corpse lying on the beach, birds are gonna consider that a buffet, and breaking a bird's neck for trying to snatch a bird-mouth-sized bite seems disproportionately aggressive to me. just saying.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/small-...
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April 12, 2022
Very sad but well written, with some sweetness. It was not subtle in its allegories - definitely on the nose.
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/small-...
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/small-...
June 2, 2022
Small Monsters by E. Lily Yu - 3/5★
A story of a little monster that gets abused all the time and how he manages to overcome his problems. The worldbuilding is absent and the story is a little too on the nose, but the writing is quite beautiful.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
A story of a little monster that gets abused all the time and how he manages to overcome his problems. The worldbuilding is absent and the story is a little too on the nose, but the writing is quite beautiful.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
June 22, 2022
Maybe 4.5, close to 5. Just short of 5 because it can be so difficult to read (see below).
You need to know, if you're planning to read this story, that while the characters are (with one exception) not human, but sort of monsters, it's very graphic and violent. It's not made clear whether it's set on a different planet or a fantasy world, but it's very clearly not a human world. In effect, the story is about violence and abuse, especially intergenerational abuse, and how one 'small monster' . I usually avoid violence in a story like the plague, but I was drawn into this very unusual story from the start and found it extremely compelling, despite the fact that I was find it hard to read because of the graphicness. The story is both powerfully and evocatively written - and the fact that I kept reading despite the violence brings that home strongly to me. And of course this is not gratuitous violence: the theme is about the violence that beings can do to one another.
Of course, the description of nearly all the characters as 'monsters' is more than literal. They are monsters not only because they have multiple eyes or similar, also because of the way they relate to one another and behave. This is clarified and really emphasised at the very end.
Apart from the unnamed and unexplained location, there's another oddness about the story. The one character that isn't a monster (again, not only literally not a monster, but not a monster by character and behaviour) feels kind of 'human' and refers to human matters such as Art, even making human cultural and artistic references. The characters, and especially the character that isn't a monster, also 'speak' somehow in a modern colloquial way that feels odd but that works. In fact, all the characters communicate or speak in a way that isn't at all explained. We don't know if they're making noises, speaking an actual mutually intelligible language, or communicating in some other mysterious way.
All of this, tied up beautifully and emphatically at the end, is what makes the story feel like a parable, or allegory, or something along those lines. For all that it's a 'message' kind of story, I didn't feel preached to for one moment. (I hate stories that preach.)
There is an oddness about it, but a vivid, deliberate and purposeful oddness. I feel that this is one of those stories that shouldn't work, but does, spectacularly.
You need to know, if you're planning to read this story, that while the characters are (with one exception) not human, but sort of monsters, it's very graphic and violent. It's not made clear whether it's set on a different planet or a fantasy world, but it's very clearly not a human world. In effect, the story is about violence and abuse, especially intergenerational abuse, and how one 'small monster' . I usually avoid violence in a story like the plague, but I was drawn into this very unusual story from the start and found it extremely compelling, despite the fact that I was find it hard to read because of the graphicness. The story is both powerfully and evocatively written - and the fact that I kept reading despite the violence brings that home strongly to me. And of course this is not gratuitous violence: the theme is about the violence that beings can do to one another.
Of course, the description of nearly all the characters as 'monsters' is more than literal. They are monsters not only because they have multiple eyes or similar, also because of the way they relate to one another and behave. This is clarified and really emphasised at the very end.
Apart from the unnamed and unexplained location, there's another oddness about the story. The one character that isn't a monster (again, not only literally not a monster, but not a monster by character and behaviour) feels kind of 'human' and refers to human matters such as Art, even making human cultural and artistic references. The characters, and especially the character that isn't a monster, also 'speak' somehow in a modern colloquial way that feels odd but that works. In fact, all the characters communicate or speak in a way that isn't at all explained. We don't know if they're making noises, speaking an actual mutually intelligible language, or communicating in some other mysterious way.
All of this, tied up beautifully and emphatically at the end, is what makes the story feel like a parable, or allegory, or something along those lines. For all that it's a 'message' kind of story, I didn't feel preached to for one moment. (I hate stories that preach.)
There is an oddness about it, but a vivid, deliberate and purposeful oddness. I feel that this is one of those stories that shouldn't work, but does, spectacularly.
January 28, 2022
A little too on the nose. No world building. Just a blatant metaphor for child abuse, but I imagine the author would try to say it's an allegory for growing up. No real names. No real species, other than the word "monster." No explanation for why a monster who lived as a tortured animal its whole life knows what coins and art are.
November 20, 2021
3.5 stars.
Read for free here!
Read for free here!
November 8, 2021
Read for free here.
A small monster is born to a parent who constantly tears off one of its many limbs to feed itself, stating only that because the parent-monster is hungry does it eat the small creature and that it's absolutely fine this happens because the small monster can regrow the limbs.
Later the small monster encounters a large monster who promises to take it away from its violent beginnings and only tear off one of the small monster's limbs once a month. After a bit, the small monster finds out this is a lie.
Overhearing the small monster weeping , a bird monster offers to take the small monster away for a price.
This was... lovely. Heartbreaking. Tragic. A look at the way abuse in its many forms shapes how we look at the world
A small monster is born to a parent who constantly tears off one of its many limbs to feed itself, stating only that because the parent-monster is hungry does it eat the small creature and that it's absolutely fine this happens because the small monster can regrow the limbs.
Later the small monster encounters a large monster who promises to take it away from its violent beginnings and only tear off one of the small monster's limbs once a month. After a bit, the small monster finds out this is a lie.
Overhearing the small monster weeping , a bird monster offers to take the small monster away for a price.
This was... lovely. Heartbreaking. Tragic. A look at the way abuse in its many forms shapes how we look at the world
October 22, 2021
The first E Lily Yu short story I ever read was The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees which impressed me to no end and ever since I've made it a point to read her stories included in an anthology or stand-alone. Small Monsters published by Tor, like her other stories, is thought-provoking and made me think of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara whose central character Jude epitomizes the small monster.
December 13, 2021
This short has a content warning for physical and emotional abuse. And rightly so, as the small monster of the story is literally torn apart by those who are supposed to love it and care for it. I found the story raw and gripping, and ultimately uplifting in the end, as it's also a coming of age and a found family story. The descriptions of the small monster's abuse are painful and gory, but in the end the small monster prevails. Excellent.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2023
Very strange, indeed! Slap it up there with horror, because seriously not for the weak no matter how cute the cover is. There is a strong message in the story. I think it leans towards readers who suffer abuse from family members. A very daring story to write, in my opinion.
I needed a book for a bingo square named Size Does Matter. Which means a size has to be in the title of the book. When I'm at lost for a book to fill a square I always turn to Tor.com and the free short stories there.
I needed a book for a bingo square named Size Does Matter. Which means a size has to be in the title of the book. When I'm at lost for a book to fill a square I always turn to Tor.com and the free short stories there.
February 20, 2025
A fascinating modern parable
A small monster overcomes various traumas and conflicts through friendship and art. Fun, short read. E. Lily Yu is an underrated treasure.
A small monster overcomes various traumas and conflicts through friendship and art. Fun, short read. E. Lily Yu is an underrated treasure.
April 23, 2024
Imagine your favourite childhood bedtime story. Now add a lot of gore, a touch of emotional abuse and some serious trust issues and you get something approaching E. Lily Yu's Small Monsters. What could have been a grim and hopeless story is saved from an awful end by an eccentric pseudo-crab, growing self-confidence and art therapy.
This was fun, and I found myself rooting for our little monster protagonist.
This was fun, and I found myself rooting for our little monster protagonist.
August 2, 2023
A monster is born only to serve as a convenient meat source for its parent, but is cruelty really all there is to life?
Terrifying and beautiful.
Terrifying and beautiful.
March 15, 2022
From the start, the author states the facts: this small monster gets its body parts consumed by its mother monster at times, so if you're not comfortable with that, you may want to avoid this story or maybe try to skip the initial sections quickly.
But the small monster has agency and tries to avoid being consumed whenever it can. Then one day, it believes it has escaped, only to fall into the same trap again. The next time it happens, the monster knows what to expect and runs away when it can.
It is here that the story becomes interesting. Reaching a beach, it befriends a little hermit crab, who thinks of nothing more than creating art by decorating its shell and the hide of the small monster.
But the past has a way of reappearing, and the monsters that the small monster had to escape from eventually find it. But now, the small monster has something to fight for and will do all it can not to be eaten ever again.
Some readers say the story is a metaphor for child abuse, and it could be read that way. Or it can be read a story of the way things are for the small monster until it discovers what it is willing to fight for and what it wants to do with its life.
But the small monster has agency and tries to avoid being consumed whenever it can. Then one day, it believes it has escaped, only to fall into the same trap again. The next time it happens, the monster knows what to expect and runs away when it can.
It is here that the story becomes interesting. Reaching a beach, it befriends a little hermit crab, who thinks of nothing more than creating art by decorating its shell and the hide of the small monster.
But the past has a way of reappearing, and the monsters that the small monster had to escape from eventually find it. But now, the small monster has something to fight for and will do all it can not to be eaten ever again.
Some readers say the story is a metaphor for child abuse, and it could be read that way. Or it can be read a story of the way things are for the small monster until it discovers what it is willing to fight for and what it wants to do with its life.
October 24, 2021
I really appreciate the content warning as it came in really handy in figuring out what the story was about. The story itself and the message it conveys is a powerful one, and I could relate to it personally, making it all the more meaningful for me. I'm really impressed with E. Lily Yu's use of imagery and descriptions. This is the first time I've read anything by them, but I'm eager to learn more about them and read their back list.
December 19, 2023
莫名其妙很爱这个古怪黑暗的温柔叙事。
生命就是不断的失去 但生命不是不值得 人只能坦然接受 幸运的话能挺过来 拥有的总比能失去的多。苦难是艺术的养料。哲学艺术家小钳。
但我还是好喜欢小怪兽啊 柔软 温柔 善良（而且好吃） 在血淋淋中成长 但依然有信任和付出的能力 最后还把爹妈和小小怪骨头带回了岛 啊呜呜。
友情是最好的礼物 小怪兽它不在乎什么艺术 它像西西弗斯一样建自己的岛 很轻的存在着。它只要朋友在身边就好。
生命就是不断的失去 但生命不是不值得 人只能坦然接受 幸运的话能挺过来 拥有的总比能失去的多。苦难是艺术的养料。哲学艺术家小钳。
但我还是好喜欢小怪兽啊 柔软 温柔 善良（而且好吃） 在血淋淋中成长 但依然有信任和付出的能力 最后还把爹妈和小小怪骨头带回了岛 啊呜呜。
友情是最好的礼物 小怪兽它不在乎什么艺术 它像西西弗斯一样建自己的岛 很轻的存在着。它只要朋友在身边就好。
October 20, 2021
Quite gruesome this one, but in the end uplifting.
January 18, 2022
Weirdly gross. Weirdly needed to keep reading!!
October 19, 2023
This one is very on the nose. The allegories and the message are lacking in subtleness. Especially with the left behind sibling. The writing is beautiful, there are some quite graphic moments but what the author really focuses on is the injustice.
It was okay, a little odd. Not really my thing.
It was okay, a little odd. Not really my thing.
January 18, 2022
A short story from tor.com available here: https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/small-...
A fable-style story of abuse and trauma. Loved the vivid imagery and atmosphere.
A fable-style story of abuse and trauma. Loved the vivid imagery and atmosphere.
October 21, 2021
This may haunt me for some time.
A good short story, heavy on gore and abuse but hopeful after all. Not the first time I see this message, and I like how it was done and written.
May everyone who's being chewed upon get spiny and sharp and find their purpose.
A good short story, heavy on gore and abuse but hopeful after all. Not the first time I see this message, and I like how it was done and written.
May everyone who's being chewed upon get spiny and sharp and find their purpose.
November 5, 2021
"The clawed creature grew larger and older than any of its kind had a right to be, or so it informed the once-small monster. Defended from marauding gulls, it had increased in size and shell until its present house, dredged from the bottom of the sea, was approximately the size of the once-small monster’s head. And one morning, as the clawed creature sorted agates, the once-small monster saw it clearly, in all its jointed and studded detail.
You’re monstrous, like me, the once-small monster said, surprised.
Nonsense, the clawed creature said. You’re like me.
The once- small monster snorted. I’ve made nothing.
A life is not nothing.
I’ve been bitten to the bone and hounded to the edge of the world. I’ve been dinner. I’ve been breakfast. An artist, never.
None of us can change what has happened to us, the clawed creature said. But if we are lucky, we live. If we are lucky, we do not lose more than we can afford. Much regrows. Claws, tail, teeth, even the vaporous stuff the poets call soul. And bitter experience provides material for art. Ask a shipwreck. Ask an oyster."
You’re monstrous, like me, the once-small monster said, surprised.
Nonsense, the clawed creature said. You’re like me.
The once- small monster snorted. I’ve made nothing.
A life is not nothing.
I’ve been bitten to the bone and hounded to the edge of the world. I’ve been dinner. I’ve been breakfast. An artist, never.
None of us can change what has happened to us, the clawed creature said. But if we are lucky, we live. If we are lucky, we do not lose more than we can afford. Much regrows. Claws, tail, teeth, even the vaporous stuff the poets call soul. And bitter experience provides material for art. Ask a shipwreck. Ask an oyster."
November 1, 2021
Small and perfect and beautiful and grotesque. I'm surprised at how emotional I am as this story is winding its way through my brain and lingering in unexpected places. I love this and yet I am sad and happy and upset and... content.
It is a beautifully written fable of a small monster's journey but its true beauty is in the realisation that who we are, the relationships we develop, and what we do and create, is more important and real than where we're from or what is done to us.
Love Kathryn.
PS: This story is published with a warning for fictional depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
It is a beautifully written fable of a small monster's journey but its true beauty is in the realisation that who we are, the relationships we develop, and what we do and create, is more important and real than where we're from or what is done to us.
Love Kathryn.
PS: This story is published with a warning for fictional depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
December 9, 2021
None of us can change what has happened to us, the clawed creature said. But if we are lucky, we live. If we are lucky, we do not lose more than we can afford. Much regrows. Claws, tail, teeth, even the vaporous stuff the poets call soul. And bitter experience provides material for art. Ask a shipwreck. Ask an oyster.
Content warning for fictional depictions of physical and emotional abuse, and gore.
As someone who has previous trauma from abuse and painful situations this was such a devavsting and beautiful story about breaking the cycle of abuse, fighting back and creating a life you can be proud of. The ending was so beautiful it made me cry.
December 22, 2022
Small Monsters by author E. Lily Yu is a short story you can read for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/small-...
All its life, a small monster with emerald scales has been a source of never-ending food to larger and more powerful creatures who feast on the small monster’s limbs each time one regrows. This is the story of how the small monster meets an industrious artist and re-forms into someone new—someone who can’t be eaten.
Content warning for fictional depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
Wow. A very moving story. There is beauty in our brokenness.
4 Stars
All its life, a small monster with emerald scales has been a source of never-ending food to larger and more powerful creatures who feast on the small monster’s limbs each time one regrows. This is the story of how the small monster meets an industrious artist and re-forms into someone new—someone who can’t be eaten.
Content warning for fictional depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
Wow. A very moving story. There is beauty in our brokenness.
4 Stars
November 22, 2023
4.5 stars
A short story about physical and emotional abuse, and how a small monster grows to escape the cycle of abuse and channel its pain into creating art, rather than continue the cycle of destruction. It is graphic and violent at times, but I find it an easy-to-understand read for people that want to learn more about physical and emotional abuse, albeit in an allegorical way.
I like the hopefulness of the ending - it is a reminder that even with all the pain and suffering in the past, a person can learn to heal and move on into a brighter future.
Read for free here:
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/small-...
A short story about physical and emotional abuse, and how a small monster grows to escape the cycle of abuse and channel its pain into creating art, rather than continue the cycle of destruction. It is graphic and violent at times, but I find it an easy-to-understand read for people that want to learn more about physical and emotional abuse, albeit in an allegorical way.
I like the hopefulness of the ending - it is a reminder that even with all the pain and suffering in the past, a person can learn to heal and move on into a brighter future.
Read for free here:
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/20/small-...
December 17, 2022
This story is really on-the-nose, but also beautifully written so it can push you to read it when you might not otherwise. As others have said it is quite graphic, but does not dwell on the grossness. Rather it dwells on the injustice, which is the thing to do. Monster world can feel a bit removed from human world, but it shouldn't--this is the way some experience it. Deserves its nomination and to be read.
August 7, 2024
I could’ve cried with this one had it been longer.
Sad but beautiful story, well-written, that tells the tale of a small monster who gets abused and eaten at parts by its own parent. It’s an allegory to the real world and how cruel we can be towards others, but how much good we can also encounter along the way as we struggle with difficult times and experiences.
One of my favorites I’ve read from TOR so far. I wish it had been longer!
Sad but beautiful story, well-written, that tells the tale of a small monster who gets abused and eaten at parts by its own parent. It’s an allegory to the real world and how cruel we can be towards others, but how much good we can also encounter along the way as we struggle with difficult times and experiences.
One of my favorites I’ve read from TOR so far. I wish it had been longer!
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July 27, 2022Swift's Modest Proposal turns out to make more sense where regenerating monsters are concerned, and one poor critter tries its best to escape a life in which first its parent, and then those who seem to offer escape, see it primarily as a source of food. It's barely even a metaphor, but the writing is beautiful enough that it dodges clunkiness, and by the end I definitely found it moving.
November 26, 2022
defiantly horrific with how often that little monster gets torn apart.
but it was too much for me personally for no good reasons.
i dislike gore and horror moments just for the shake of being horrific. i need more than that to enjoy a story.
but i can see why other might enjoy this more than i did.
but it was too much for me personally for no good reasons.
i dislike gore and horror moments just for the shake of being horrific. i need more than that to enjoy a story.
but i can see why other might enjoy this more than i did.
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