Short and not very sweet, Ashlee Nelson

ShameJoy Julie Hill Giant Sparrow, $25.00, ISBN 9780473284060 Mean Michael Botur Create Space, US$6.66, ISBN 9781491226650 Julie Hill’s ShameJoy is very much a mixed bag in terms of quality, with some stories incoherent messes and others poignant and perceptive. The less pleasant aspects are found most pronouncedly in the earliest stories. These want to be funny, but also to seem as though they don’t care if you think them funny or not. They’re like the kid in class making annoying and disgusting jokes because occasionally they get a rise out of someone or hit the right note and get the laugh.

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