BOOK REVIEW: Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean – edited by Kirsty Murray, Payal Dhar and Anita Roy

Stephanie O'Connell | 29 January 2015 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean – edited by Kirsty Murray, Payal Dhar and Anita Roy

Allen & Unwin
January 2015
Paperback, $16.99
Reviewed by Steph O’Connell

7/10

Short story anthologies are a wonderful creation; the reader either follows their favourite authors to an anthology, or they’re drawn in by the theme, but they inevitably discover new authors to keep an eye on. This collection is no exception.

This collection presents seventeen stories set to break stereotypes, cross boundaries, and examine what it means to be human. With seventeen stories, there are too many to give an entire run down, but even the less captivating of this bunch were certainly not a bad read.

I read this book for stories by Margo Lanagan and Isobelle Carmody, but discovered:

– A story that makes the reader dislike humans, as we visit a world that humans have invaded, imprisoning the natives and studying them.

– A world in which the women are the rulers, and the men are servants, only good for giving women female children.

– A world without food, at least in the sense that we know it now, and a time travelling version of Masterchef.

– A post apocalyptic Little Red Riding Hood, where the air is so toxic it burns the skin, and people wear safety suits when they set foot outside secured areas.

– A girl who can possess anything that doesn’t have a life of its own – a stone, the floor, the wall – but can’t help her friend who is dying.

This entire collection is a quick, engaging read, and stories within will leave you hopeful, heartbroken, grinning like a fool, or in tears.

Some stories were less engaging than expected, based on the publishing history of certain authors, but others were pleasantly surprising, and you’re sure to come out of this book with a list of new authors to read!