Book Review: Bodies Full of Burning Edited by Nicole M. Wolverton
Bodies Full of Burning
Edited by Nicole M. Wolverton
I’ve not been having a great time with anthologies lately. Actually, I’ve generally not had a great time with much I’ve read recently, so I was so glad this one turned out pretty great, actually.
Bodies Full of Burning contains 16 stories centred around the menopause. Firstly, that is such a refreshing idea for an anthology. We’ve long seen girls going through puberty in horror, and it’s great to have a book with older women at its core.
There’s a lot to be said about ideas of identity and womanhood, and the way women are often used in horror – as teenage victims, as overbearing mothers, as old crones – and this anthology effectively explores a variety of ideas, occasionally centred around these yet with plenty of variety it is, again, refreshing. I won’t go through all of the stories here, though there was not a single one I didn’t enjoy reading. I’ll just briefly mention a few standouts.
“Blood Calumny” by Joanna Koch is about a womb seeking a home. It’s a strange (in the best way) tale, and with an excellent POV through Kevin. In Megan M Davies-Ostrom’s “Here There Are Dragons” women are exiled when they go through the change. The story itself is empowering, showing the ‘change’ doesn’t mean the end of a life. “Nobody Warns You” by D.A. Jobe explores control by men in a really intriguing way, going through the last moments of a group of women on a wilderness retreat. And “Fifty-Four Year Itch” by Shelby Dollar takes the reader on a very interesting journey into a MLM-style cult, with an ending that really nails it.
This is a really good, weirdly enjoyable anthology, shifting the focus of the genre and exploring some excellent themes, while giving the reader enough creeps and shivers to stop them feeling too burnt up. Definitely pick it up – you won’t be disappointed.
Grade: A
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter & Instagram: @elleturpitt
I received this paperback from publisher Sliced Up Press for review consideration.