Comments on: The Thin Line Between Everything and Nothing

By: Louise Mangos

Louise Mangos — Sun, 26 Sep 2021 07:28:31 +0000

“The Thin Line Between Everything and Nothing” is a magnificent journey to the far corners of the world while also exploring the deep recesses of the psyche. The narrative of many of the pieces takes the reader right out of their comfort zone with themes of domestic violence, migrant tragedy and war-torn nations. Storm’s writing will take your breath away. Some stories will shock and break your heart. Each piece is best read with a break between to savour the bombardment of the senses. There’s a strength and power in so many of the pieces written in the second person, making the reader feel almost guilty for what we cannot do to alleviate the world’s atrocities. But Storm’s beautiful writing keeps us tentatively hanging on and begging for more.

By: Anne Eyries

Anne Eyries — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 07:09:44 +0000

This collection stands out because it engages the reader entirely. These flash stories diffuse a warm honesty, alive with tensions and memories, and they are not trying to trick us. They are real stories, not anecdotes, where things happen and we care about the outcome: “she stands on the fault lines of her future and wonders what has happened to the fabric of her past”, where sometimes the thin line between fiction and non-fiction is painfully thin. The characters are believable, allowing us to identify and empathise with them and forgive them their flaws. The writing is smooth and strong, words chosen to enable us to conjure up a whole scene: “throw dice and dark humour, staving off the boredom of waiting and the trauma of witnessing”. While some stories will speak louder than others to our personal taste, they all have a voice and something to say, show and share. This collection is like a necklace: each gem is different and admired individually, together they reflect consistency and polish.

By: Amanda Huggins

Amanda Huggins — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 13:07:15 +0000

Hannah Storm’s writing is bold and powerful. These brief moments and fleeting encounters shine the brightest of lights on the darkest corners of the world, illuminating and examining the fragility of life and relationships. Storm writes with empathy and wisdom, exploring the stories of the displaced and lost as they strive for connection. In this compelling debut collection she shows us what it means to be human.