Day 51 Stefanie Barnfather

If you have not read a good collection of stories in some time, let me recommend Stefanie Barnfather’s You Didn’t Have To. Barnfather is an indie Canadian author who deserves a wider audience. You Didn’t Have To is a collection of 13 tales in which something goes wrong in the future. It took me a little less than two weeks to read the collection because, at least in my opinion, stories need to be savored and one should take some time after each one to stop and think about what one has just read. They should not be binged. Please, slow down when reading short stories. Would you do me that favor.

I never quite know the best way to review a story collection. If you read reviews on Story Graph or other book related social media spaces, there are reviews for every story collection that start by saying something like, “Like most collections, I really enjoyed some of the stories, but others left me cold.” Couldn’t you put that sentence in the review of every story anthology without even reading a word?

I would like to focus on one story in the collection, “Tech Support.” The story is a description of a group of people at a company who are having a meeting with people from Human Resources after doing something inappropriate during an online meeting. Most of the people were caught on camera performing some sort of bodily function that is almost always done in private. The idea that one of the people was there for saying, “cheese” before taking a picture was certainly unexpected. Many of the stories are darker, and, often erotic. But the sexual content, while occasionally odd, will not be shocking if you have spent any time reading romance stories. The prose is solid, but this is not literary fiction and I did not find too many sentences worth memorizing.

Overall, the stories are imaginative, provocative, and, occasionally, disturbing. Worth your time. You can find Barnfather’s work in print and electronic formats. If you happen to have a kindle unlimited subscription, many of her books are available there.

My question for you to answer in the comments is:

Who is the last indie or non-mainstream author you read?

If the answer is I can’t remember, consider starting a Barnfather book.