Breakable Things

by Cassandra Khaw

Overview

WINNER OF THE BRAM STOKER AWARD - Superior Achievement in a Collection.

Shirley Jackson Awards Finalist

British Fantasy Awards Finalist

Cassandra Khaw's dynamic and vibrant debut collection, Breakable Things, explores the fragile and nebulous bonds that weave love and grief into our existence. This exquisite and cutting collection of stories showcases a bloody fusion of horrors from cosmic to psychological to body traumas.

"Khaw (Nothing but Blackened Teeth) packs a gruesome punch with the 23 bite-size horror stories ... the distinctive authorial voice and uncanny atmospherics will surely find some fans."

- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"...a terrifying joy to read ... lyrical, brutal, and intensely unsettling..."

-Library Journal, Starred Review

"...superbly strange and beautiful ... deliciously warped... Twenty-three stories: all worth reading."

-Locus

"A delicious bowl of razor blades. With coiled prose and whetted instinct, Khaw's stories put a finger on the dark pulse of being human."

- Rich Larson, author of Ymir and Tomorrow Factory

"A remarkable collection of tales from one of the most versatile and vital voices of their generation. Cassandra Khaw's stories are deftly wrought and sharp enough to draw blood, building entire worlds in a scant few pages. Horrifying and beautiful!"

- Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones, and Ararat

"Khaw takes the familiar and gives it a vicious cutting edge. Breakable Things is haunting, and in the best way, sneaky. It gets inside you, and when you least expect it, it strikes, leaving you bloodied on the floor unsure if you're laughing or crying."

- Nghi Vo, author of The Chosen and the Beautiful

"Some writers are simply indispensable if you want to understand your cultural moment. Cassandra Khaw is three of them. For reasons, take your pick: a (1) master storyteller who (2) finds multiple angles into the deepest recesses of your psyche to (3) leave you not just stricken, but strangely relieved, strangely edified. Breakable Things is a match-strike in the darkness that makes you understand the value of darkness. Enjoyed best under the covers!"

- Carlos Hernandez, Award-winning author of the Sal and Gabi series

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781988964379
Publisher:	Undertow Publications
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Pages:	250
Sales rank:	663,949
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw's books include, "Hammers on Bone," a British Fantasy Award and Locus Award finalist; "The All-Consuming World," one of the Washington Post's best science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2021; and their most recent novella, "Nothing But Blackened Teeth," a Japanese haunted house story described as "sharp, playful, and nasty as hell," which was published by Tor Nightfire in late 2021.Their short fiction can be found in a myriad of places, including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Tor.com, Nature, The Dark, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Khaw is also an award-winning game writer who has worked on games such as She Remembered Caterpillars (German Game Awards Best Children's Game 2017), Wasteland 3, and Rainbow Six: Siege. They currently reside in Montreal with two gigantic cats, and can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @casskhaw.

Editorial Reviews

08/15/2022

Khaw (Nothing but Blackened Teeth) packs a gruesome punch with the 23 bite-size horror stories of their powerful but slightly uneven debut collection. A brace of standout tales, the stunning and folkloric “You Do Nothing but Freefall” (written with A. Maus) and “A Leash of Foxes, Their Stories like Barter,” both center on vulpine characters. The eldritch and haunting “Don’t Turn on the Lights” and “An Ocean of Eyes” offer glimpses into unknowable horrors, with Khaw wisely allowing readers only a peek into expansive worlds and magic systems. Many of these tales, including “Goddess, Worm” and “And in Our Daughters We Find a Voice,” interrogate gender, trauma, and power, delivering complex female characters who are by turns deeply understandable and entirely unforgivable. While Khaw’s signature lyrical flair will draw readers in, it sometimes verges on overkill, with style clouding substance until character, theme, and plot are entirely obscured by extended metaphors and writerly flourishes. It won’t be for everyone, but the distinctive authorial voice and uncanny atmospherics will surely find some fans. Agent: Michael Curry, Donald Maass Agency. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 10/01/2022

With their collection of 23 stories, previously published across the genre fiction landscape and one original to this volume, Khaw (Nothing but Blackened Teeth) presents a book that is a terrifying joy to read. Many of the entries invoke fairy tales and/or mythologies from all over the world. They are lyrical, brutal, and intensely unsettling and mostly center women—quite often as the monsters. While not long, the stories are immersive, with lush and detailed settings, intriguing characters, and beguiling and beautiful lines. The original tale, "How Selkies Are Made," and "And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice" are two water-infused, stellar examples, but every story will dig into the reader, threatening to never let go, especially because each ends perfectly. VERDICT Khaw's critical acclaim and popularity are skyrocketing, and this collection showcases exactly why. It allows readers a chance to swim around in their unique brand of intensely unsettling tales, submerging themselves in a larger pool of their beautiful but horrific waters. For fans of the dark speculative stories by Angela Slatter, Nadia Bulkin, and Samanta Schweblin.

Library Journal