Kate’s 2¢: “Dogs and monsters: stories” by Mark Haddon

“Dogs and monsters: stories” by Mark Haddon

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   The multiple readers did a good job of narrating these stories. Ordinarily, I do not appreciate authors re-writing classics, such as with children’s fairy tales which turns them into fractured-fairytales,however, Haddon put a lot of creativity and insight into his re-writes of several Greek myths. They became modern horror and bizarre tales for today’s audiences. A couple of them gave me angst and nightmares.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

markhaddon.com

Mark Haddon (born 26 September 1962) is an English novelist, best known for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award, the Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for his work.

Life, work and studies[edit]

In 2003, Haddon won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award—in the Novels rather than Children’s Books category—for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He also won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in the Best First Book category, as The Curious Incident was considered his first book written for adults.[1] Despite being categorized as an adult book for some awards, Haddon also won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2003 for the book.[2] The book was also long-listed for the 2003 Man Booker Prize. [3] It was adapted as a stage play and was successful for a long run.

The Curious Incident is written from the perspective of a 15-year-old boy, Christopher John Francis Boone. In an interview at Powells.com, Haddon claimed that this was the first book that he wrote intentionally for an adult audience; he was surprised when his publisher suggested marketing it to both adult and child audiences (it has been very successful with adults and children alike).[1] However, it has also been criticised by some autistic readers who objected to its ‘depressing’ depiction of Christopher, the autistic protagonist.[4]

Haddon’s short story “The Pier Falls” was longlisted for the 2015 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, the richest prize in the world for a single short story.[5] He published a collection of short stories inspired by classical mythology called Dogs and Monsters in 2024.[6]

In 2023, he turned down an OBE for his services to literature, saying: ‘I would feel uneasy accepting an honour which presumes an uncritical acceptance of the British Empire as a good thing.'[7]

Personal life[edit]

Haddon is a vegetarian. He describes himself as a “hard-line atheist”.[8][9] In 2019, he had heart bypass surgery. Later he contracted COVID-19 and, as he recovered, was diagnosed with long COVID. He has struggled with “brain fog” that left him unable to read or write. In 2024 he spoke to The Guardian about his five-year-long process of partial recovery, saying that although he still could not read properly, the fog was “starting to thin a little”.[10]

Haddon lives in Oxford with his wife Sos Eltis, a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, and their two sons.[8]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Dogs and monsters: stories DB125334         

Author: Haddon, Mark

Reading Time: 9 hours, 2 minutes

Read by: Robert Bathurst, Steve John Shepherd, Rachel Bavidge, Christina Cole

Subject: Short Stories

“Mark Haddon shapes ancient fables into fresh and unexpected forms, and forges new legends to sit alongside them. The myth of the Minotaur in his labyrinth is turned into a wrenching parable of maternal love – and of the monstrosities of patriarchy. The lover of a goddess, Tithonus, is gifted eternal life but without eternal youth. Actaeon, changed into a stag after glimpsing the naked Diana and torn to pieces by his hunting dogs, becomes a visceral metaphor about how humans use and misuse animals. From genetic engineering to the eternal complications of family, Haddon showcases how we are subject to the same elemental forces that obsessed the Greeks. Whether describing Laika the Soviet space dog on her fateful orbit, or St Anthony wrestling with loneliness in the desert, his astonishing powers of observation are at their height when illuminating the thin line between human and animal.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

London, England : Penguin Random House, 2024.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Pushcart Prize 29: best of the small presses, 2005  

“Pushcart Prize 29: best of the small presses, 2005  

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Suzanne Torren did a good job of reading this lengthy anthology of submissions from many small presses and magazines.  There were almost 8000 submissions and only 62 (the annotations stated 60, but the book stated 62.) were selected. Apparently, the editor of this 2005 Pushcart Prize edition, was mistakenly thinking sexual exploits made for good literature. I suspect there were better examples of good literature amidst those almost 8000 submissions.

   One of the memorable pieces was the one about the French teacher who renamed all the students with French painter’ names. I thought this was clever and made me chuckle..

   I also liked “virtuoso Mio” fiction by Karen Palmer from the Kenyon Review, submitted by Joyce Carol Oats.

   I like to read the Pushcart Prize anthologies to note which small presses submit pieces and what kind of pieces they deem submittable.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Pushcart prize: best of the small presses, 2005 DB59636

Reading Time: 23 hours, 2 minutes

Read by: Suzanne Torren

Subject: Short Stories

Sixty short stories, essays, and poems from literary magazines and small presses across the United States. Authors include Patricia Monaghan, Benjamin Scott Grossberg, Chana Bloch, Jeffrey Harrison, and Andrei Codrescu. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2005.

Wainscott, N.Y. : Pushcart Press ; New York, N.Y. : Distributed by W.W. Norton, c2005.

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Kate’s 2¢: “Abigale Hall: a novel” by Lauren A. Forry

“Abigale Hall: a novel” by Lauren A. Forry

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Madelyn Buzzard did a good job of narrating this story. There are some gruesome scenes, but the time switching of events past and present will keep you on the edge of your seat for 12 hours, 42 minutes.

Featured snippet from the web

Lauren A. Forry was brought up in the woods of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to earn her undergraduate degree in Cinema Studies and Screenwriting from New York University. She later earned her MA and MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University in London, England.

About | Lauren Forry

Lauren Forry

https://www.laurenforryauthor.com › about

from NLS/BARD/LOC:

Abigale Hall: a novel DB88632

Author: Forry, Lauren A.

Reading Time: 12 hours, 42 minutes

Read by: Madelyn Buzzard

Subjects: Gothic Fiction, Mystery and Detective Stories, Occult and Horror Fiction, Psychological Fiction

In Britain after World War II, orphaned sisters Eliza and Rebecca are shipped off to Wales to work as servants. The isolated manor house is run by a vicious housekeeper bent on keeping the girls from discovering its secrets. Some violence. 2016.

New York : Skyhorse Publishing, 2017.

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