Especially Now

by Jonas Cannon

A collection of micro-stories, small slices of life seen through lenses that are equal parts tragic and funny, all about navigating through an often cynical world.

69 pages, Paperback

Published December 6, 2021

Reviews

[Jenna Freedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally I dog ear pages of books for passages I want to remember, but I stopped doing that a few pages into Especially Now because nearly every tiny passage has sharp bite. The 50ish-word micro stories share common themes of unusually twined resignation and hope with characters deciding to live another day with their eyes open, like

Life was not a romance, but it could be this.

There's a realistic perseverance through the sad times. If you've lost someone you loved, perhaps to suicide, you might relate to

What hurt Lé the most--more than knowing she'd never hear Kenzie's infectious cackle again--was how life steamrolled over the dead. Tomorrow didn't care that she was gone. The world lives without us. Lé clenched the flowers tighter, like holding onto an arm.

Every story is like that, taking your breath away, and sharing empathy, because, like the I voice in story #32, we're all "so very tired of recuperation mode."

You can buy EN from the big box retailer or your favorite zine distro. I got mine from Portland Button Works.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

These micro stories are wonderful. Jonas has a gift in developing a mood, setting and character background within a few sentences.

He drops the reader into a moment and you find yourself thinking about these characters long after reading a few words about them, developing your own backstory for the moments he captures.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories with a huge impact! I have found myself continuing to think about the stories afterwards and wanting to know much more about the larger world that the characters are a part of. Highly recommend!

[Anjana Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonas has always been a writer who just gets it and it's always a pleasure to read their work, whether in the form of zines or fiction. I read this short collection in one go but will definitely return to it again and again.