Current Disasters

Current Disasters is a collection of 22 short stories and flash fiction by Jen McConnell. The subjects of these stories vary, but all these tales are about life and how people connect and interact with each other and the world around them. There is nothing too fantastical or other worldly. McConnell’s stories, characters, or situations sound familiar or could be a life that other people live. These stories may even be about a life that someone wants.

Regardless of the subject matter, the beauty of this collection is the art of telling a tale with fewer words. The stories range from a few pages to a few sentences. McConnell excels at relaying a lot of information with the fewest words possible. There are not any long, drawn-out descriptions. McConnell lets the reader fill in the blanks. At times, she even hands the ending to the reader to finish according to their desires. This book showcases how to craft brilliantly written short fiction.

McConnell offers the reader her words as if they are a precious commodity. In her short stories, American Gothic Getaway and Worry Incorporated she is able to grab the reader’s attention with a dynamic first sentence. Regardless of how long the story is, she has already hooked the reader and to not finish reading the tale would result in a lifetime of wondering. At times, McConnell delivers an ending that begs the reader to imagine the conclusion. The endings of Current Disasters and The Poles of Inaccessibility will live eternally, taking multiple paths in the reader’s minds. Other stories have creative formatting, such as Family Vacation Dictionary, written-like dictionary entries, and Stuffed Peppers to Please Everyone, which resembles a recipe. Every story has a title just as creative as the story itself. Many times, the titles are a story itself, like Not the Worst Day of Your Life but Definitely Not the Best.

Current Disasters is more than a collection of flash fiction and short stories. McConnell demonstrates over and over again effective ways to craft a story using the minimum of words. Regardless of how long the story is, or how it is formatted, McConnell’s works are brilliantly crafted and a pleasure to read. Readers looking for entertaining tales in short form can’t help but find one or many favorite short stories. Readers interested in improving their own storytelling can take plenty of lessons from McConnell’s book.