BOOK REVIEW: Amaranthine

- By Dave Dubrow

Erik Hofstatter’s Amaranthine and Other Stories is an anthology of horror shorts that tackles a number of themes: child care, racism, infidelity, sex, and death. Hofstatter paints in broad strokes with his writing, leaving the reader appreciative of his descriptive power. Referring to itself as “schlock horror,” the collection lacks depth, which is likely the point: you’re not meant to read too deeply. Just hold on and enjoy the journey.

The first story, The Birthing Tub, is a stomach-turning tale of heartbreak and parenthood, of a sort. Easily the best in the collection, you’re best off not reading it during lunch.

Tristan’s Equation, the eponymous Amaranthine, and The Wandering Pilgrim are flash fiction pieces: disturbing situations rather than actual stories.

Both The Deep End and Akona address the theme of caring for a child that isn’t your own; Akona ends on a somewhat humorous note, while The Deep End is rather longer and more complicated than it needed to be.

Eucalyptus Grove recounts terrible brutality without the benefit of catharsis at the end; it was apparently inspired by true events.

The Green Tide is also flash fiction, though it tells a complete story.

Most disappointing was the last piece, Pins and Needles, which purported to address the controversial topic of racism, but didn’t quite get there: the framework of the story couldn’t support the intended theme, and wound up as a ho-hum tale of over-the-top revenge.

Like his short novella Katerina, also reviewed at The Slaughtered Bird, Hofstatter’s Amaranthine and Other Stories is missing a narrative core, something for the reader to hold onto after the book is closed. Consider it a light, if macabre read.

- By Dave Dubrow