Of The Flesh: 18 stories

Of The Flesh is a collection of 18 modern horror short stories that delve into themes such as eerie fairy-tale prayers, eating disorders, societal outcasts, immigration struggles, and even unsettling encounters with rats.

Standout Stories:

Sketch

Orla, a withdrawn bargirl, is grappling with her mother’s recent disappearance, which leaves her with a peculiar sketchbook. As her emotions take a darker turn, the sketches seem to come alive with an eerie force. Told in a striking comic strip format, this story adds a visual edge to the horror.

Fight, Flight, Freeze

Set in Malaysia, this tale follows Sara, who is entangled in an affair with a married man, Julien. After Julien’s wife dies, his behavior grows increasingly erratic. Sara begins receiving cryptic warnings that may be connected to the deceased wife, escalating tension and paranoia.

The Fruiting Body  

Paul and his fiancée, Jen, buy a house with rotting walls, suspecting they’ve made a terrible mistake. As Paul struggles with unemployment and Jen navigates her pregnancy, hallucinations and nightmares begin to plague Jen, straining their relationship and unraveling their lives.

Daisies  

Lucas is tasked with relocating his late mother’s remains to an urn. The twist? His mother’s body hasn’t decomposed—even after 30 years. This unsettling discovery leads to chilling revelations about the past.

The Broccoli Eel  

Benny lives in a tense household where his parents argue frequently, and his mother enforces strict dietary rules. But after a tragic accident involving his mother, Benny’s life takes a disturbingly dark turn.

Apples  

Recently divorced, Karen moves into a new home with an apple tree in the garden. After eating the apples, she begins experiencing strange and unexplainable phenomena that blur the lines between reality and nightmare.

Bob-a-Job

Richard works for a sinister requisitioning company, trapped until he pays off an overwhelming debt. His latest assignment seems straightforward: use his marketing position to gather personal information from a reclusive client to push a product. But as Richard delves deeper into the man's life, he uncovers a chilling conspiracy involving exploitation and manipulation that threatens to consume them both.

Overall, Of The Flesh offers a diverse blend of horror, ranging from chillingly atmospheric tales to stories that challenge genre norms. While some stories stand out as captivating reads, others stray from traditional horror, offering more subdued or unconventional takes on the genre.

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

The story begins with an unsettling claim by a forensic anthropologist: Vanessa Chapman’s 2005 sculpture, Division II, contains a rib bone that isn’t just from an animal—it’s human. The revelation sends scandal through the art world, unraveling a chain of mysteries tied to Chapman’s enigmatic life and death. A painter and ceramicist of unmatched brilliance, Vanessa lived in reclusion, crafting a legacy both haunting and beautiful. But as her closest relationships are scrutinized—her unfaithful husband, Julian, who vanished decades ago, and Grace Haswell, her loyal companion for twenty years—questions arise.

The characters are unforgettable: Grace, with her guarded loyalty and unspoken grief; James Becker, a curator struggling between duty and his own buried doubts, who becomes the lens through which Vanessa’s tangled world is viewed; and at the story's heart is Vanessa herself—a ghostly, commanding presence whose art continues to speak louder than her words and through the diary and notes that she left behind.

While some mysteries leave us with clear-cut answers, this one lingers in ambiguity, weaving a tale where art, memory, and the human condition intersect. The writing is stunning, evoking both the chilling nature of the revelations and the tender vulnerability of the characters. This isn’t just a mystery to solve; it’s a meditation on the stories we leave behind and how they’re retold by those we trust—or betray.

I closed this book with a shiver and an ache, knowing it will linger long after 2024 ends. A story like this deserves not just to be read but to be seen as a movie! This marks my 91st book in my reading challenge this year. I also want to express my gratitude to the beloved distributors for sending good books all these years. I really appreciate it.

She's Always Hungry by Eliza Clark

This collection is perfect for readers drawn to stories that unflinchingly examine our most self-destructive tendencies. Each tale is haunting, imaginative, and deeply human. Some could even be expanded into novels, thanks to their complex worlds and characters. This is my second time reading Clark, and once again, I’m captivated by their light yet deeply incisive prose, which effortlessly constructs stories that linger in the mind and explore our darkest impulses.

My favorites:

Build a Body Like Mine  

In this chilling exploration of body image and identity, a woman discovers a life-altering secret about her body after years of self-denial. The twist—a parasitic "gift" that lets her indulge without consequences—forces her to reconcile control and surrender in a profoundly unsettling way. The story literally had me saying, “WTF” out loud multiple times. (Sorry, not sorry😅)

She’s Always Hungry  

Blending folklore with personal tragedy, this tale follows a man who captures a mysterious creature that transforms into a woman. Her cryptic request reveals the eerie truth behind his village’s vanishing men and his own fractured identity.

The Shadow Over Little Chitaly  

A sharp, satirical gem that reimagines fusion cuisine with an unexpected horror twist. Little Chitaly, the restaurant at the center, balances the line between the absurd and the grotesque as its eccentric menu defies customer expectations—and common sense.

Overall, Clark’s anthology seamlessly combines sharp wit, emotional depth, and the macabre, delivering stories that linger long after the final page. With its blend of dark humor, profound insights into human nature, and unsettling twists, it makes for an unforgettable read.