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    The Wilds: Stories
    The Wilds: Stories
    The Wilds: Stories
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Wilds: Stories

    Written by Julia Elliott

    Narrated by Susan Bennett and Lori Gardner

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    At an obscure South Carolina nursing home, a lost world reemerges as a disabled elderly woman undergoes newfangled brain-restoration procedures and begins to explore her environment with the assistance of strap-on robot legs. At a deluxe medical spa on a nameless Caribbean island, a middle-aged woman hopes to revitalize her fading youth with grotesque rejuvenating therapies that combine cutting-edge medical technologies with holistic approaches and the pseudo-religious dogma of Zen-infused self-help. And in a rinky-dink mill town, an adolescent girl is unexpectedly inspired by the ravings and miraculous levitation of her fundamentalist friend's weird grandmother. These are only a few of the scenarios readers encounter in Julia Elliott's debut collection, The Wilds. In these genre-bending stories, teetering between the ridiculous and the sublime, Elliott's language-driven fiction uses outlandish tropes to capture poignant moments in her humble characters' lives. Without abandoning the tenets of classic storytelling, Elliott revels in lush lyricism, dark humor, and experimental play.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJul 24, 2015
    ISBN9781490683997
    The Wilds: Stories

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    Reviews for The Wilds

    3.5/5

    32 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was a great collection--one I'm glad to have read before relinquishing most of my reading autonomy to the remainder of the semester. While there is a story named "Feral" in here, that's how the whole collection felt...gloriously so. I loved the snark and ribbing of post-industrial malaise while also wondering at the mess we humans have made. I appreciated the exploration of old age in "LIMBs" and "Jaws" and felt a particular pull from the primal, grimy thrum of youth in the title story. This collection is a cannier approach to magical realism, where reality often appears more fanciful than the marvels. According to the author note, Elliott will be publishing her debut novel this year, and I, for one, will be sure to get my paws on it.

      *****
      Counting as my short story collection for Book Riot's Read Harder challenge.
    • 4/5
      Whimsical, lyrical, effervescent prose. Imaginative storytelling that skirts between literary and speculative with a a sense of wonder and abandon. A charming collection, through and through.
    • 4/5
      I loved how absolutely, unapologetically gross this collection was. The author lovingly describes the disgusting details of being human, of being organic lifeforms, of being in love and growing up and growing old and trying to figure out how much of you is real and how much artifice. It's in the surgically disinfected that Elliott finds despair and disgust and it's in the acceptance of existence as disgusting and messy that her characters eventually find absolution. This was an amazingly unique collection of skin-crawling transcendence
    • 4/5
      Not sure where I heard about this book but this collection of short stories was excellent. Elliott is very creative. Here stories use lots of surrealism along with science fiction. She deals with many of the issues facing us such as the environment, social media, aging, etc and takes a set up and pulls it to absurd endings. She shows great knowledge in her subject matter and the stories were very creepy/fun. Like all short story collections there is always an issue with how stories end. The ambiguity and abruptness of the endings bothered me a bit but overall I highly recommend this truly original author. She has a novel out and it will be interesting to see how she does with that form as opposed to the short story.
    • 3/5
      1st story 'The Whipping' strange, how easily the strange is accepted as normal within a family.2nd story, Limbs, rather fascinating and innovative, senior and dementia home where some are given brain stimulation and limbs that work to help some walk again. 3rd story Feral. Packs of wild dogs terrorize. Very visual but seemed to go on forever. Least favorite so far.4th story. JawsStarted out keeping track of these stories. Very strong writing and very strong images. My favorite is "Limbs:, loved the concept which I think could work in real life possibly and loved the human interest twist that appears. I can't say that I really liked any of the others, they were very strange, but as I said very visual but for the most part unlikable. Unforgettable though for sure, doubt I will forget a one. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. Many are the stuff of nightmares or deranged minds?Love the cover though.ARC from publisher