Families and Other Natural Disasters is a collection of flash fiction about families, born into, created or found, how they support us or repress us, and the ways they can change us and shape us.

These stories are set in the UK and India, in aquariums, ballrooms and outer space. They follow women into volcanoes and out to sea. The characters search for lost brothers and lost selves and find prairie dogs and sea serpents.

In a debut collection rich in cultural detail, Anita Goveas beautifully explores the theme of family as one of the essential elements that hold the universe together.

Narratives that intersect continents, myths and folklore – a magical exploration of love, belief and the complications in relationships, with others and with oneself. Left me breathless and craving for more.
—Susmita Bhattacharya, author of The Normal State of Mind and Table Manners

This gorgeous collection brims with energy and sensuality. The characters negotiate their uncertain way through a world where the rituals of family are as elemental as volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes; where gods, demons and monsters take a place alongside grandmothers, uncles and lost twins. Richly observed stories to catch the heart and quicken the pulse.
—Sharon Telfer, two-time winner of the Bath Flash Fiction Award

Familial bonds are explored, stretched and transfigured into startling new forms in this collection. From the regional to the international to even the intersteller, there is both a directness and a sense of mystery in all of these stories. Subjects include volcanoes, tsunamis, zoos, sailing, dancing, falling in and out of love, and finding acceptance, and the prose throbs with sensory details and an elemental power. Varied and inventive in terms of character, cultural details and structure, this is a welcome and deeply satisfying debut.
—Farhana Khalique, Word Factory Apprentice and editor at Desi Reads

The post Families and Other Natural Disasters appeared first on Reflex Press.