This passage was my breaking point: ”she met his teasing, lighthearted insults with witty, perceptive responses and relaxed him when his mood was sour. (…) When he was in a mad mood she was there to argue him out of it. When he was playful, she let him tease her and made him laugh with an equally enthusiastic remark. She didn’t push him to be more open about his emotions, and he didn’t expect her to hide from hers, as she did in front of the rest of the world…” Part 2— about children, pregnancy and the fear of parenthood. I would not advise reading this section if you are expecting or a new mother. I wasn't comfortable with a few stories because of the graphic style and skipped some. I might revisit one day because Logan is such a wonderful writer and I really want to know what happens. But skip if you are faint hearted (I realise that I am. I am) In between the stories are italicized passages that seem to give context on Logan’s composition process, including her writing retreat in Iceland – but it turns out that this is a story, too, split into pieces and shading from autobiography into fiction.

Review: Things We Say in the Dark, by Kirsty Logan Review: Things We Say in the Dark, by Kirsty Logan

It was a look of yearning; of a fierce need to possess and protect. Her breath shuddered when his hand squeezed between her thighs, parting her legs as he rubbed over where her skin was warm and honeyed all over. “Anything else?” he asked, moving his mouth down to her breasts. He nibbled along the bottom curve, lightly grazing supple skin with his teeth. And although they are apprehensive, they are also desperate for someone to simply care about them. Language: English Words: 281,593 Chapters: 41/41 Collections: 51 Comments: 1,764 Kudos: 6,574 Bookmarks: 2,630 Hits: 453,120 Tell me something,” she murmured. Her sleepy eyes fixed on the outline of his face. Fascinated by it — the coarse, chiseled shape of him — she let her fingers dither along the cupid’s bow of his lip, darting up to the bridge of his nose. Everything about him, she thought to herself, bristled with warm, unwavering strength. Her chest burning, as if she drank a barrel of bubotuber pus, Hermione turned to him with narrowed, accusing eyes. "Malfoy...are we dating?"

The stories in Things We Say in the Dark are described as ranging from 'chilling contemporary fairytales to disturbing contemporary fiction.' The premise behind the collection is to examine fears. The blurb comments: 'Some things can't be spoken about in the light of day. But we can visit our fears at night, in the dark. We can turn them over and weigh them in our hands and maybe that will protect us from them. But maybe not.' For Logan, the expansive night allows a kind of freedom difficult to hold onto during the daylight, but it also serves to make the more creepy elements stand out. Logan has used quite typical tropes at times - abandoned buildings, a séance - but rather than becoming clichés, she makes them all her own. This is met with silence at first; the rise and fall of her breathing, the sounds of the city in the distance. But he feels her eyes on him.

Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan review – an

Home.” She held her breath, focused on the unperturbed beating of his heart. There was so much finality to the word that unnerved Corrin. What was home? Where was it? When she closed her eyes, she pictured that lonely tower and the room she had known. Blue skies and a sun couldn’t shake that image out of her head. A smile crept up on her lips, the irony not having been lost on her. When she runs into a familiar face on the night of her birthday, Hermione feels a spark of hope for the first time in a long time. Then, an opportunity for a fresh start presents itself, along with an old nemesis who seems to reignite her need to fight: both for herself, and for the life she’s always wanted. Things We Say in the Dark has been split into three parts: 'The House', 'The Child', and 'The Past'. Each of the tales contained within the sections revolve around the central subject, but each is, on the whole, really quite different. Before each, Logan has added a sort of continual narrative, which builds to a story of its own.At the same time, domestic fears are also growing. Many young people of my generation will never be able to own their own home. Refugee children and their parents crowd camps and detention centres across the globe; members of parliament and journalists have, in recent years, been murdered on the street. Even though this book is not very long, it took Logan almost two years to write and there is no wonder why. Constant thinking about your fears and watching horror movies as a part of “research” can be a bit too much at times. She even admitted, that all the characters in the stories are named after famous horror movie characters, but no one yet discovered all of them.

Kirsty Logan | Things We Say In The Dark

He said so much with so few words. Even now, in the late hour and half-asleep, he exuded an impassable dignity that was hard to resist. Leo once told her that kings were like that. They thought differently from others, as if rules and limitations didn’t apply to them. Xander, it seemed, has left behind the unthinking obedience of his days as prince and instead embraced the title of king. He was no longer like one of them, simple human beings and tools to be used for the sake of their kingdom. Now, he ruled over them. There was power to that, Corrin was sure. Power and grief. She clung to him tightly, overwhelmed by her worries of loneliness and abandonment now that the man she loved would be, in a strange sort of way, out of her reach. Things We Say in the Dark succeeds as a short story collection in its ambitious thematic scope which is lifted by Logan’s lyrical and haunting prose. There are stories to touch on multitudes of fears, and the fervour with which Logan writes is both infectious and overwhelming, which is why I would recommend dipping into this collection to savour the nightmares Logan leads you through. Before reading this collection yourself, please be aware that some of the stories are quite explicit and difficult to read, touching on subjects such as sexual assault, rape, and miscarriage, so consider this a content warning. Part 3 The Past is more about literal, specific fears, although I didn’t quite understand some of the more experimental stories.Streng genommen handelt es sich um einen Kurzgeschichtenband und obwohl viele der Erzählungen auch für sich allein funktionieren, sind andere eher Vignetten, die in ihrer Gesamtkomposition ihre volle Wirkung entfalten. Die Themen sind so eng miteinander verbunden, dass es sich mehr wie ein großes atmendes Gewebe anfühlt, in dem alles ineinandergreift. Die Geschichten bedienen sich teils bekannter literarischer Schauermotive, klopfen diesen aber den Staub ab und verbiegen sie zu neuen Überraschungen. Dabei entsteht der wahre Horror oft erst durch das stille Weiterdenken über das Ende der jeweiligen Erzählung hinaus oder durch die Reflektion auf die Realität. Viele der Geschichten beschäftigen sich z. B. mit Einsamkeit und Gewalt an Frauen – womöglich die wahren Schauergeschichten unserer Gegenwart. Things We Say in the Dark is divided up in 3 parts, each surrounding different themes. Each of them are quite hard to describe to someone who hasn’t read it for themselves, so the best I can do is give you some “themes” present in each of them.

Things We Say in the Dark - Penguin Books UK

A brilliant collection of stories . . . All will burrow their way into your brain and not let go' Stylist Ever since its announcement in early 2019, Things We Say in the Dark has been high up on my most-anticipated list. It’s no secret that I’m as close as it gets to a fangirl when it comes to Kirsty Logans work. I’ve adored everything she’s written thus far, and was expecting a collection of horror-short-stories in her style to be a 5-star experience for me as well. I didn’t even consider the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to finish it. Yet here we are… Corrin giggled softly into the dark, laying her head on the pillow next to his. She felt his hand wrap over hers, thumbing circles into her palm as he gave her a closed-eyes smile. I ADORED this book. I am not a fan of horror stories but these are just the right kind for me. I jumped on this collection because of what an excellent writer Kirsty Logan is. And this was everything i hoped the short story collection would be. Creepy, unsettling, poking towards uncomfortable etc. This also makes it a very difficult collection to review.Some stories are divided into multiple parts by headings or point-of-view changes. Others are in unusual formats like footnotes, a questionnaire, bullet-pointed lists, or a couple’s contrasting notes on house viewings. The titles can be like mini-tales in their own right, e.g. “Girls Are Always Hungry when All the Men Are Bite-Size” and “The Only Thing I Can’t Tell You Is Why.” The second part is dealing with children, pregnancy and the fear of being a parent. My personal favourite was a short story called The Only Time I Think of You is All the Time. Probably the only story getting closer to ghosts, as we meet a woman, who is being constantly followed by the presence of “Brigitte” everywhere she goes. She feels that there is no immediate danger, but her mumbling, a touch of hands or moving of objects still gives her no space to live in peace. The only place where Brigitte cannot find her is in a dark pond at the end of the garden. But what happens if she discovers her hiding place?