The surge of flash fiction comes as no surprise in our fast paced, constantly changing society. Ideas come in sound bites, expressing enormous amounts of information in as few words as possible. People have less time to read long novels and want to hear the important headlines as quickly as possible. These days, individuals operate on less attention span and within a more detailed technological environment. Information comes fast and various directions, computers (Internet), cell phones, television, radios, fax machines, and print.
Two editors, James Tomas and Robert Shapard have examined the genre flash fiction closely. They have published superb anthologies and made flash fiction an exciting genre for writers, readers, teachers, and anyone who respects the word. A decade ago, they published the Flash Fiction anthology with much success. Again, they emerge with another anthology, Flash Fiction Forward: 80 Very Short Stories. They ask “How short can a story be and truly be a story?” Fulfilling all the requirements of a flash and still be a flash, they answer this core question with the stories they choose in their anthology.
Flash fiction is more concise than a haiku or haibun, but far shorter than a novella. Every flash must contain a beginning, middle and end-a story. The word length varies somewhat but many agree on 500 for a short-short and 1,500 words for a longer piece. The writing, itself, is highly precise and controlled using ‘word economy’ to the fullest. Writers who take on flash know it as an art and science. Shapard and Thomas chose stories from the best and most refined writers.
Dave Eggers wrote Accident, a second person account of teenagers in the aftermath of a car accident. His chilling diction and emotional portrayal lingers with readers long after the last world. Michael Knight’s The Mesmerist brings readers into a man’s world of desire for a young woman and how far he will go to keep her. Ann Hood’s The Doctor depicts a heartbreaking tale of a father’s death, his daughter unwillingness to forgive the doctor who now pursues her.
Overall, this anthology is full of exquisite gems. The book is compact and perfect to take with you wherever you go and read a story while waiting for an appointment, reservation, meeting, or plane, whatever the occasion may be. Each story is no longer than a few pages. Some filled with humor, tragedy, chilling reality, or fantasy. The anthology offers brilliant insight, wonder and escape into real and imagined worlds.
