Stevie‘s review of Best Bi Short Stories Edited by Sheela Lambert
Bisexual Fiction Short Story Collection published by Circlet Press 15 Jun 14
I tend to find anthologies a little hit and miss, and generally pick them up only when I recognise more than one of the authors as someone whose short stories I’ve read and enjoyed before. This time, however, it was the theme that attracted me; the bisexual experience is one that gets neglected in fiction compared to the slightly greater representation of characters who act bisexually in ménage stories (generally, in my reading experience, without any engagement with the wider bisexual community) or whose bisexuality is a step on the way to a complete change of identity. Plus, we sometimes get bisexual characters in the background, offering words of wisdom to the protagonists. In this anthology, though, each story’s central characters are in the main very much rooted in their bisexual identities, or are getting there by the end of the story. While not all stories were precisely to my taste, there were some definite stand-outs and no total flops.
The anthology opens with Storm Grant’s Dual Citizenship, which may very well have been inspired by Due South fandom back in the day, but is nevertheless a delightful story of life in the time of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in its own right – and also laugh-out-loud funny at times. So yes, some of the stories in here have been around for a while, but they’re all very well worth reading in the present day. As well as showcasing bisexual characters, this book also covers diversity in a lot of its other forms. There’s a great racial and cultural mix, as well as a number of stories dealing with gender beyond the binary.
Coyote Takes a Trip by Deborah Miranda is another title that is familiar to me, although I don’t remember where I came across it before, and it’s also another that merits multiple reads, dealing as it does with sexual, gender and racial minorities in the US through the eyes of a long-term drifter. Conversely Cecelia Tan’s Dragon’s Daughter gives us a modern retelling of old Chinese legends through as experienced by an Asian-American adoptee who discovers she has unusual talents, and then has to undo the mistake she made in the course of that realisation.
Not all the stories are romances: Alone, As Always by Jenny Corvette would fit well in an anthology of classic domestic suspense stories I read recently, while Charles Bright’s Mother Knows Best is about a different experience of death. Kathleen Bradean’s Challenger Deep also deals with death in that it’s a tale about paying last respects to a beloved family member, but offers up the possibility for a happier story in the future as the protagonist makes discoveries about their gender and sexuality.
All in all, this is a splendid book to either read in one sitting or dip into from time to time and almost all the stories are ones I’d want to reread repeatedly in print. I think there’s enough in the anthology to satisfy most readers, so I’d recommend giving the whole a chance, even if not all the stories appeal on first glance.
Grade: B
Summary:
Best Bi Short Stories is the first book of its kind, a literary anthology bringing together the very finest representations of bisexuality in fiction. The bisexuality of characters, like in real people, can be invisible to readers unless explicitly brought to their attention. Invisibility leads to underrepresentation, and on bookstore shelves that has certainly been true. Best Bi Short Stories hopes to change that by presenting the very best quality, cast in a bold light. With an all-star author lineup ranging from Katherine Forrest to Jane Rule, Ann Herendeen to Jan Steckel, and curated by longtime bi activist Sheela Lambert, Best Bi Short Stories encompasses several genres. The authors are a diverse group, as well, and Lambert sought representation across age groups, cultures, ethnicities and sexualities in both the authors and stories, demonstrating the richness of bi experience. Best Bi Short Stories contains the following stories: Dual Citizenship by Storm Grant Alone, As Always by Jenny Corvette Companions by Kate Durre Pennies in the Well by Rob Barton The Decision by Ammy Achenbach Coyote Takes a Trip by Deborah Miranda The Lottery by Florence Ivy Angels Dance by James Williams The Idiom of Orchids by Camille Thomas Mother Knows Best by Charles Bright “…Leave a Light on for Ya” by Gretchen Turner Dragon’s Daughter by Cecilia Tan Pride/Prejudice by Ann Herendeen Challenger Deep by Kathleen Bradean Mr. Greene by Ours M. Hugh Art Making by Kate Evans Friends and Neighbours by Jacqueline Applebee Memory Lane by Sheela Lambert Naked in the World by Geer Austin Alex the Dragon by Jan Steckel Face to Face by J.R. Yussuf Xessex by Katherine Forrest Inland Passage by Jane Rule.
No excerpt available.
