WILDFLOWERS by BEVERLY PARAYNO

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 Reading by Eileen Tabios

Wildflowers by Beverly Parayno

(PAWA, 2023)


 

I was going to say Beverly Parayno’s debut book WILDFLOWERS ( http://wildflowersbp.com ) is the best short story collection I’ve read this year… but the year obviously just got started (it’s Jan. 8 as I write this). So below is the list of short story/flash fiction collections I read in 2023. And I’ll say that with its elegantly meticulous—even refined—style that provides a master class in the open-ended ending, WILDFLOWERS is as stellar as any title below. Its occasional epistemological forays bespeak a more mature writer than might be indicated by a first book author. And its discernible punk muscle is amusing. This author, thus, can be considered a peer with the likes of Grynberg, Rosca, Galang, Remoto and Sesling—what a feat. Well then: I welcome Beverly to the authors' party. WILDFLOWERS is a superb achievement.

 

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For comparison, the 2023 short story/fictions I read:

 

When the Hibiscus Falls by M. Evelina Galang (Coffee House Press, 2023). Short stories.

 

REJWACH by Mikolaj Grynberg, Trans. by Sean Gasper Bye (Jewish Currents, 2019). Short stories.

 

The Heart of Summer by Danton Remoto (Penguin, 2023). Short Stories.

 

Barkada Ng Lima / Gang of Five by Ninotchka Rosca, Trans. by Pia Arboleda (Villarica Press, 2015). Short Stories.

 

Secret Behind the Gate by Zvi A. Sesling (Cervena Barza Press, 2023). Fictions.

 

WHEELS: Flash Fiction by Zvi A. Sesling (Alien Buddha Press, 2023). Fictions.



 

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