Description
Book SynopsisWith humor and verve, Subcortical's dynamic stories delve into the mysteries of the human mind as these haunted characters struggle with economic disparity, educational divides, and the often-contested spaces in which they live.
Trade ReviewConell brings the characters in her rich debut collection to life in weird, wise, and often poignant ways.
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Publishers WeeklySubcortical urges the reader to take fantasy and fiction seriously, to consider how belief in the supernatural or the unlikely is not only an emotional touch point, but also a potential form of salvation . . . Throughout the collection, Conell never loses touch with the reader; the passion and sense of loss in these stories, their beat and pulse, is never distant. Whether transported to New York or Nashville, the 1940s or the present day, she does not lose sight of what lures and hooks our hearts . . . Dreams, hopes, the unreal-made-real and vice versa, weave and tighten these stories together, rewarding the reader with perspectives that captivate and confound, whirl you around and yet fasten you to the solid reality of the human body.
—Cara Dees,
The Adroit JournalWith sixteen stories of various lengths,
Subcortical is a substantial debut. The shorter pieces, four to five pages each, are elliptical and open-ended, leaving readers wanting more. The longer stories possess the heft of novels, with complex characters who grow in surprising directions. This collection promises a bright future for Conell in longer fictional forms, but here's hoping she returns on occasion to write stories like these, gems of quirky insight and the heartache of difficult lessons. As Conell clearly knows, learning the hard way is the only way we learn anything.
—Sean Kinch,
Chapter 16Conell invites us into our own world with new eyes that capture the extraordinary details of the everyday and experience the extraordinary as merely mundane . . . These stories ask the reader to look closely at our present moment, to uncover its wonders and marvels. These stories are a reflection rather than a solution. They'll do better than break your heart—they'll shake it up and set the pieces cascading like snow in a globe, settling eventually in a familiar but different arrangement.
—Alicia Marie Brandewie,
Nashville ReviewTable of Contents1. The Lock Factory2. A Suggestion3. Unit Cell4. What the Blob Said to Me5. My Four Stomachs6. The Rent-Controlled Ghost7. Subcortical8. A Guide to Sirens9. Hart Island10. Recuerdo11. The Afterlife of Turtles12. Guardian13. Ghost Train14. The Sextrology Woman15. A Magic Trick for the Recently Unemployed16. Mutant at the Pierre HotelAcknowledgments
