My Monticello: Fiction

My Monticello is a collection of short stories and novella by the same name. I had read an interview with the author with Jocelyn Nicole Johnson and I was excited to read her work for the first time.

For the past couple of years, I have used reading mainly for escapism, comfort, and the opportunity to armchair travel.

First of all, I want to say that I will need to reread this collection many times. There are some writers and pieces of work that you need to read several times to grasp the full complexity of the story, and the writing is so rich that each time the reader can notice something new. While I tried to focus on the words and journey of each story, I felt like so much was going over my head.

These stories evoked a lot of heartache, both “Buying a House Ahead of the Apocalypse” and “My Monticello” stories are focused on women protecting their families in a dystopian world. These stories seemed very close to our present reality and caused me some sleepless nights. But there is joy too in the community and family that is created throughout the stories. It’s true that all we have is each other.