A ton of lightweight tales from a heavyweight storyteller.
One of the modern masters of the drabble format, Jonathan Hill gives us a hundred original stories of precisely one hundred words each. This collection shows off a huge amount of creativity, imagination and mischievous wordplay, with drabbles across a range of genres from comedy to tragedy.
It’s tempting to sit down and consume this book in one go, as each drabble is so quick and easy to read. But many of them are subtle and require digestion, while others deserve to linger in your mind for a while, rather than being blown away by the next great little tale.
Although each works as a standalone, some are part of mini-arcs such as ‘The History of Art Revealed’ and ‘Stage Debut’ that give them a common theme. There is also a moving mini-story told in multiple drabbles portraying the life of a man named Miles, plus of course Jonathan’s hit character Maureen pops up a few times, as hopelessly funny as ever! The author also manages to guest-star a few times, making fun of himself and his addiction to writing drabbles.
This is a highly recommended book to read in-between longer novels, and may even inspire you to try writing a 100-word story yourself. But be warned that Jonathan makes it look a lot easier than it really is!