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Reviewed
by Avis Hickman-Gibbs
Through life we all have times when we feel we’ve been dumped on. Those
of us who are destined for heaven move on and forgive freely those
transgressors against us. But anyone who has ever fantasized of a
suitable payback for someone who’s ever done them wrong will delight in
this delicious collection of seventeen stories of revenge. The whole
anthology is an engrossing read, and to someone who has a robust sense
of humour (count me in there!) it is a rich mix of stories guaranteed
to keep a body enthralled. Mind you, it could give you ideas!
Getting
Even is a collection of stories all about the sweetness of
revenge, and they all deal with revenge, in one form or another. Some
of these unsettling tales detail revenge from beyond the grave, such as
the spooky and desolate Remember
Me by Dee Silman.
The whole collection is littered
with
downtrodden women who have suffered abuse over their years, as in the
(death)wish fulfilment blueprint of How to Kill an Aries
by Tony Fennelly. And we have one or two heroines who are quite frankly
completely off their trolleys, such as in A Cake Story by
Josie Kimber – who of us hasn’t wanted to get even with a bitchy
“sister” – but 99.99% of us wouldn’t carry matters to this
extreme.
Danuta Reah treats us to a
delightful, full-bodied tale in Glazed,
which starts the collection off with a story which has you cheering for
what she doesn’t do. This is a satisfying tale of a woman scorned, and
out of the unwitting revenge scored, beauty is created.
The haunting Payment in
Kind by Stella Duffy, details a woman definitely not
coping after her partner’s suicide; and painstakingly paying back in
full the people who she is convinced caused it; herself included. The
French say that revenge is a dish best served cold, and we have a
unique take on this in the last tale of the collection, Esprit de Corpse by
Jean Lamb; it gives whole new meaning to the accusation of
frigid.
But in my heart of hearts while I
read, I have to admit that overall I found I had a sneaking sympathy
for the twisted, browbeaten heroines I found between these pages. And
for their fighting back against bullying, selfish, self-interested...
men in the main (there were one or two women targets, like poor
sweet-toothed Jennifer from Cake
Story) when these dismal dollies have had enough. Who
hasn’t had thoughts like these when life goes wrong? The difference is
that we are asked to believe that the heroines in these stories have
scored one for the underdog. And I for one can well believe they could
really happen. It is a bonus that the collection as a whole is well
written and easy to gallop through.
This would be a very good book to
take your mind off a nasty bout of ‘flu, or to throw into the suitcase
when heading off for some sun. But if you’re male, a word to the wise,
don’t give a copy of Getting
Even to your wife/partner/girlfriend – it might give her
(or them) some ideas.
Read an excerpt from one of the stories
from this collection on Mitzi Szereto's Weblog.
| Avis
Hickman-Gibb
lives in rural Suffolk, England. She gained a BSc. in Environmental
Chemistry more years ago than she cares to admit, and worked in the
fledgling computer industry whilst still a babe-in-arms. She is
currently working on a novel, a book of short stories and is addicted
to writing flash fiction.
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Publisher: Serpent's Tail
Publication
Date:
2007
Paperback/Hardback?
Paperback
First
anthology?: No
Authors: Danuta
Reah,
Umi Sinha,
Stella Duffy,
Tony Fennelly,
Niall Griffiths,
Josie Kimber,
Becky Bradford,
Mitzi Szereto,
Georgiana Nelson,
Rosie Jackson,
Dee Silman,
Clare Colvin,
Vicki Hendricks,
Madeleine de Chambrey,
Chris Dunning,
Tara Ison,
Jean Lamb
Editor bio: Mitzi
Szereto is an author and anthologist with more than a dozen
books to her credit. She is a pioneer of erotic writing workshops in UK
& Europe. She’s earned the American Society of Authors and
Writers’ Meritorious Achievement Award for the anthologies she had
edited. She lives in England.
Read
an interview
with Mitzi Szereto
Buy this book (used or
new) from:
The
Publisher's Website: Serpent's Tail
AbeBooks
Amazon
Book
Depository
Powell's
BetterWorldBooks.Com
And...don't
forget your local booksellers and independent book shops! Visit IndieBound.org to find an independent bookstore near
you in the US
If
you liked this book you might also like....
Christine Gallagher "The Woman's Book of
Revenge"
Paladin Press (Ed) "The Revenge
Encyclopaedia"
W.H. Cozens (Ed) "Pan Book of Revenge
Stories"
What
other reviewers thought:
Monsters and
Critics
The List
Hags,
Harlots and Heroines
The Guardian
The
Independent
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