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Women and Other Constructs
Table of Contents:
Introduction
“Mrs. Henderson’s Cemetery Dance”
“Letter From A Murderous Construct and His Robot Fish”
“Annabelle Tree”
“A Cage, Her Arms”
“Call Center Blues”
“Mitch’s Girl”
“All The Right Words”
“Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere”
“About the Mirror and its Pieces”
About the Stories
---
Robot tech support, helpful zombies, monster hunting in the Lacandan Jungle, a little girl who grows up to be the Ice Queen--and just for fun, a sonnet about a murderous robot. You can find all of this and more in Women and Other Constructs, the first short story collection by Carrie Cuinn.
The “Introduction” talks about the broader themes behind the book, and “About the Stories” gives a quick look at what inspired each of them. 20,000+ words.
Introduction
“Mrs. Henderson’s Cemetery Dance”
“Letter From A Murderous Construct and His Robot Fish”
“Annabelle Tree”
“A Cage, Her Arms”
“Call Center Blues”
“Mitch’s Girl”
“All The Right Words”
“Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere”
“About the Mirror and its Pieces”
About the Stories
---
Robot tech support, helpful zombies, monster hunting in the Lacandan Jungle, a little girl who grows up to be the Ice Queen--and just for fun, a sonnet about a murderous robot. You can find all of this and more in Women and Other Constructs, the first short story collection by Carrie Cuinn.
The “Introduction” talks about the broader themes behind the book, and “About the Stories” gives a quick look at what inspired each of them. 20,000+ words.
84 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2013
About the author
Carrie Cuinn
23 books64 followersCarrie Cuinn is a writer, editor, historian, and geek. Her writing often blends science fiction and fantasy with feminism, anti-colonialism, myth, poetry, and whatever weirdness she’s fascinated by today. Recent fiction can be found in Kaaterskill Basin Literary Journal, Luna Station Quarterly, Apex Magazine, and Unlikely Stories.
As an academic, she holds degrees in Fine Art and History of Art, with a focus on Early American printing. In her spare time she researches local history, enjoys music and art house cinema, cooks everything, reads voraciously, and tries to find time for sleep.
She's online at @CarrieCuinn and at http://carriecuinn.com.
As an academic, she holds degrees in Fine Art and History of Art, with a focus on Early American printing. In her spare time she researches local history, enjoys music and art house cinema, cooks everything, reads voraciously, and tries to find time for sleep.
She's online at @CarrieCuinn and at http://carriecuinn.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 12, 2013
Having previously encountered Carrie Cuinn's work mainly in her capacity as an editor – and enjoying it a lot – I was curious to see how I would like her short fiction. The publication of her first – of hopefully many more – collection of short stories seemed a perfect opportunity to find out. And I have to say that the only thing wrong with the collection is its length, because I ended the collection wanting more. The collection contains eight stories and one poem and still only takes 84 pages and I would have loved to read more.
Despite its short length there is a wealth of stories here and when I sat down to write my review and pick my favourite stories to talk about, I had a really hard time, because every time I'd change my mind. In this collection of stories mostly dealing with the position of women in society and how their (self-)perception is shaped by the demands and expectations of that society, I found hardly a bum note. The only item that didn't work for me was the poem Letter From A Murderous Construct and His Robot Fish, but that probably has more to do with the automatic association I have with struggling through lots of poetry analysis at university than with the quality of the poem. Still, there are three stories that I kept coming back to as my favourites and I wanted to take a closer look at them.
Mrs. Henderson’s Cemetery Dance
This humorous story starts with a dog running off with his dead master's arm and that worthy's attempt to get it back. But it goes on to show how cruel communities can be to widows and/or spinsters, especially if they are young and poor. However, Mrs Henderson, the young widow in this tale doesn't let her spirit be dampened by the treatment she receives at the hands of her neighbours and ultimately it's her own kindness that prevails. I loved the way that Cuinn built this story and the twist at the end.
A Cage, Her Arms
This story resonated with me on different levels. On the one hand, I could sympathise completely with the mother in this story, who doesn't want to let go of her child, even if it means a better life for them. To see your child move away from you in a direction you can't follow and which means you'll never be able to see or hold them again must be excruciating. On the other hand, I could also understand the child's despair at his mother's unwillingness to let him go. In a way this story is all about the realities of parenthood and how it consists of letting your child become its own person and make his own choices, however painful they might turn out to be, for them and for you. Though here that tension and the results are taken to the extreme.
About the Mirror and its Pieces
A possible origin story for the Snow Queen of many tales, an explanation for why her heart turned so cold and frozen. This story hit me hard and where it hurts. I just wanted to hold that little girl and hug her and tell her it wasn't her fault. I wanted to sit the teen down and reassure her that it wasn't her, it was them and that what they did to her and how they treated her was wrong on all levels. That no child, no person deserves that. I love that it not only gave an explanation of her treatment of the little boys in her fairy tale and in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but also made those events tragic, rather than malicious. It was a fabulous story and a great note to end the collection on.
Women and Other Constructs is a wonderful way to discover Carrie Cuinn as a writer and it definitely leaves a taste for more. In her introduction Cuinn mentions she always thought she'd be a novelist and decided to master the short form because she can't stand not being good at something; if anything this collection shows that she is good at it, remarkably good even. Hopefully there will be many more collections of her short fiction and perhaps even a novel. Regardless, I'll be there to read them, because Cuinn's writing is just that good.
Despite its short length there is a wealth of stories here and when I sat down to write my review and pick my favourite stories to talk about, I had a really hard time, because every time I'd change my mind. In this collection of stories mostly dealing with the position of women in society and how their (self-)perception is shaped by the demands and expectations of that society, I found hardly a bum note. The only item that didn't work for me was the poem Letter From A Murderous Construct and His Robot Fish, but that probably has more to do with the automatic association I have with struggling through lots of poetry analysis at university than with the quality of the poem. Still, there are three stories that I kept coming back to as my favourites and I wanted to take a closer look at them.
Mrs. Henderson’s Cemetery Dance
This humorous story starts with a dog running off with his dead master's arm and that worthy's attempt to get it back. But it goes on to show how cruel communities can be to widows and/or spinsters, especially if they are young and poor. However, Mrs Henderson, the young widow in this tale doesn't let her spirit be dampened by the treatment she receives at the hands of her neighbours and ultimately it's her own kindness that prevails. I loved the way that Cuinn built this story and the twist at the end.
A Cage, Her Arms
This story resonated with me on different levels. On the one hand, I could sympathise completely with the mother in this story, who doesn't want to let go of her child, even if it means a better life for them. To see your child move away from you in a direction you can't follow and which means you'll never be able to see or hold them again must be excruciating. On the other hand, I could also understand the child's despair at his mother's unwillingness to let him go. In a way this story is all about the realities of parenthood and how it consists of letting your child become its own person and make his own choices, however painful they might turn out to be, for them and for you. Though here that tension and the results are taken to the extreme.
About the Mirror and its Pieces
A possible origin story for the Snow Queen of many tales, an explanation for why her heart turned so cold and frozen. This story hit me hard and where it hurts. I just wanted to hold that little girl and hug her and tell her it wasn't her fault. I wanted to sit the teen down and reassure her that it wasn't her, it was them and that what they did to her and how they treated her was wrong on all levels. That no child, no person deserves that. I love that it not only gave an explanation of her treatment of the little boys in her fairy tale and in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but also made those events tragic, rather than malicious. It was a fabulous story and a great note to end the collection on.
Women and Other Constructs is a wonderful way to discover Carrie Cuinn as a writer and it definitely leaves a taste for more. In her introduction Cuinn mentions she always thought she'd be a novelist and decided to master the short form because she can't stand not being good at something; if anything this collection shows that she is good at it, remarkably good even. Hopefully there will be many more collections of her short fiction and perhaps even a novel. Regardless, I'll be there to read them, because Cuinn's writing is just that good.
January 28, 2014
Full disclosure: I received this book via a giveaway on the author's blog. I only paid shipping.
Mrs. Henderson's Cemetery Dance — I enjoyed the humor in this story, as well as the spin on the idea of respecting the dead. The opening scene and the ending few sentences are especially amusing.
Letter From A Murderous Construct... — What's not to love about a Shakespearian sonnet about a robot and his fish? I like that the idea sounds amusing but the sonnet still manages to sound menacing.
Annabelle Tree — While I liked the idea of this story, and identified with Annabelle to an extent (I too enjoyed climbing and being among trees when I was younger), I didn't enjoy this story as much. As I read the rest of this book, I came to the conclusion that I enjoy Cuinn's work most when it has some hint of humor or somehow bucks expectations of where the story is going, and this didn't have those qualities for me.
A Cage, Her Arms — I think I'm going to declare this my favorite story in the collection. I just loved everything about it. The idea of someone doing something out of love or a sense of protection, only to have their actions be the worst thing they could have done...I just love everything about the idea and execution of this story.
Call Center Blues — Another funny, thoroughly enjoyable story. I liked this one also for the feminist thread running through it (If a woman doesn't act how you want, just reset her programming!), which made it an interesting type of social commentary without beating you over the head.
Mitch's Girl — Didn't care for this one, either. The idea is creepy enough, and again has some subtle social commentary going on, but I just generally don't enjoy any stories about sexual exploitation, so while this one isn't terribly graphic I just never got into it.
All The Right Words — I like the idea of this one a lot and actually wish it were a longer story, maybe a novella or something. A strength in Cuinn's writing, and a topic she talks about a little in the Introduction, is the way she addresses the gender roles we normally see in science fiction or horror. She either meets those roles head-on and finds a way to challenge them in her stories, or she reverses those roles. That was part of what I enjoyed so much in this story and wanted to see more of.
Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere — The fakeout ending on this one was the best. And I loved the idea of the jungle reclaiming its territory, of the creatures evolving and adapting to smarter (human) prey. The animal she confronts in the jungle is such an awesome idea, but the one at the end is even better!
About The Mirror... — I'm not familiar with the Snow Queen tale beyond knowing its basics and that it exists, so it wasn't until I read the explanation for all the stories in the book that I understood the gist of this story better. But I like the language and imagery in this story best, I think. It has a more fairy tale/fable feel to it (likely because of the source of inspiration) than the other stories in this collection.
Mrs. Henderson's Cemetery Dance — I enjoyed the humor in this story, as well as the spin on the idea of respecting the dead. The opening scene and the ending few sentences are especially amusing.
Letter From A Murderous Construct... — What's not to love about a Shakespearian sonnet about a robot and his fish? I like that the idea sounds amusing but the sonnet still manages to sound menacing.
Annabelle Tree — While I liked the idea of this story, and identified with Annabelle to an extent (I too enjoyed climbing and being among trees when I was younger), I didn't enjoy this story as much. As I read the rest of this book, I came to the conclusion that I enjoy Cuinn's work most when it has some hint of humor or somehow bucks expectations of where the story is going, and this didn't have those qualities for me.
A Cage, Her Arms — I think I'm going to declare this my favorite story in the collection. I just loved everything about it. The idea of someone doing something out of love or a sense of protection, only to have their actions be the worst thing they could have done...I just love everything about the idea and execution of this story.
Call Center Blues — Another funny, thoroughly enjoyable story. I liked this one also for the feminist thread running through it (If a woman doesn't act how you want, just reset her programming!), which made it an interesting type of social commentary without beating you over the head.
Mitch's Girl — Didn't care for this one, either. The idea is creepy enough, and again has some subtle social commentary going on, but I just generally don't enjoy any stories about sexual exploitation, so while this one isn't terribly graphic I just never got into it.
All The Right Words — I like the idea of this one a lot and actually wish it were a longer story, maybe a novella or something. A strength in Cuinn's writing, and a topic she talks about a little in the Introduction, is the way she addresses the gender roles we normally see in science fiction or horror. She either meets those roles head-on and finds a way to challenge them in her stories, or she reverses those roles. That was part of what I enjoyed so much in this story and wanted to see more of.
Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere — The fakeout ending on this one was the best. And I loved the idea of the jungle reclaiming its territory, of the creatures evolving and adapting to smarter (human) prey. The animal she confronts in the jungle is such an awesome idea, but the one at the end is even better!
About The Mirror... — I'm not familiar with the Snow Queen tale beyond knowing its basics and that it exists, so it wasn't until I read the explanation for all the stories in the book that I understood the gist of this story better. But I like the language and imagery in this story best, I think. It has a more fairy tale/fable feel to it (likely because of the source of inspiration) than the other stories in this collection.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2013
I just picked up this book about an hour ago and can't believe it's already over!
Granted, it only includes eight stories and a very short poem (constructed on a dare). This was my first time picking up anything by Carrie Cuinn and I must say I was very impressed by her simplistic style which can still portray so much. The stories included in the anthology show a great range of ability and talent in multiple genres, though my personal favorites were 'Mrs. Henderson's Cemetary Dance' and 'Call Center Blues'. I think the only story I was lukewarm on was 'Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere', even though the story has much to offer in how it was told.
The anthology claims to be much about women and the 'constructs' society and culture create to replace them, and for the most part, this is true––I felt that theme a great deal while reading, but fair trigger warning for the casual reader: parental incest, necrophilia and perceived pedophilia are all included in this anthology. Nothing ever explicitly graphic, but it's there.
Granted, it only includes eight stories and a very short poem (constructed on a dare). This was my first time picking up anything by Carrie Cuinn and I must say I was very impressed by her simplistic style which can still portray so much. The stories included in the anthology show a great range of ability and talent in multiple genres, though my personal favorites were 'Mrs. Henderson's Cemetary Dance' and 'Call Center Blues'. I think the only story I was lukewarm on was 'Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere', even though the story has much to offer in how it was told.
The anthology claims to be much about women and the 'constructs' society and culture create to replace them, and for the most part, this is true––I felt that theme a great deal while reading, but fair trigger warning for the casual reader: parental incest, necrophilia and perceived pedophilia are all included in this anthology. Nothing ever explicitly graphic, but it's there.
July 9, 2014
In a word, eerie. Ms. Cuinn's imagination is on display here in technicolor. Reading her stories is like having a dream. They lull you in that way, you know how dreams always start perfectly believably, and get weird until you wake in a rush thinking, what the hell was that? I credit her clear prose, never overdone, with that ability to pull you in. Her strangeness is always situational, sometimes descriptive but conveyed in a frankness that makes it accessible. Until the hair starts rising on the back of your neck, that is. These are not happy ending stories for the most part, though you could see some of them that way, depending on your point of view. You could see many of them as unsettling, even disturbing--again, depending on your point of view. Cuinn leaves that to the reader. I appreciate that.
Note that IMHO the collection starts off slowly, with the least tidy story, but the rest of the stories are tight and tidy indeed.
Note that IMHO the collection starts off slowly, with the least tidy story, but the rest of the stories are tight and tidy indeed.
July 6, 2014
Women and Other Constructs is a gorgeous short story collection mixing reprints and originals, with stories focusing mostly on women. There are touches of humor, but a lot of darkness as well. Two stories in particular struck me, placed back to back in the book and more or less at its center, acting as the collection’s heart – Annabelle Tree, and A Cage, Her Arms. They are both lovely and heartbreaking and really show the author’s strength in an overall strong collection. The design of the collection is also worth noting, with lovely cover art and generally a clean and professional look to the entire collection.
June 22, 2023
I liked "A Cage, Her Arms"
August 14, 2013
*To Be Reviewed
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews