Have You Read This? Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy by Hailey Piper

 

Short fiction is a subtle art form. Most writers can churn out a book’s worth of short stories in a coffee-soaked weekend. There are far fewer writers who turn the short story into something more than just a short story. They can turn a story into something that stays with you, stains your being, long after you finish reading them. Hailey Piper has demonstrated that she belongs in this exclusive group of writers with her short story collection Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy.

Short story collections can be a mixed bag. Many have a few memorable stories while the rest are clunkers, or the author isn’t able to maintain a consistent quality of work throughout the collection. Not so with Piper. Each of her stories stands out because they are each so unique that Hailey Piper can be her own brand, like Stephen King and Joe Lansdale. This collection also promises a great deal of variety for the reader. Want something in outer space? Try the claustrophobic witch hunt tale “Hairy Jack.” Looking for a Pennywise-level monstrosity? Prepare to swear off ice cream forever with her macabre tale “We All Scream.” Want something a bit loud, as loud as, say, a revving chainsaw? Then check out “I’m Not a Chainsaw Kind of Girl, But . . .” And if you want something that borders on Clive Barker levels of horror transcendence, indulge in the deliciously decadent “The Recitation of the First Feeding.”  All of these stories are told in Piper’s viscerally poetic, but never purple, prose.

Something that also makes these stories unique is their focus on LGBTQ characters. Piper, a member of this community, explores the trials and tribulations from many different perspectives within the community, such as a young transgendered person experiencing the horrors of the public restroom. There has been much talk of alternative voices in horror, exploring other voices besides Stephen King Lite or straight, white male angst. Horror should represent all voices because it is human nature to be afraid and to hopefully, eventually overcome that fear. If we can’t overcome fear alone, then sharing those experiences through the horror story can help us realize that others out there are just as afraid, possibly of the very thing we’re afraid of wearing a different mask. Piper’s collection not only explores perhaps her own anxieties but those anxieties (isolation, loss of identity, etc.) that are universally tied to the human condition.