- Two-Fisted Tweets
- James Hutchings
- EBook
- Smashwords
- February 2011
I’ve never really read much flash fiction before but in my opinion James Hutchings has crafted thirty short, remarkably humorous, entertaining, and thought-provoking micro-fiction stories in this much, too-brief anthology. The brevity of these stories forces the author to tell us as much in what isn’t written as what is. And Hutchings does this wonderfully. While Two-Fisted Tweets fits into the category of sudden, micro, or short-short-fiction it is so very much more. Structured to be less than 140 characters in length these thirty mini-stories were created to fit within the parameters of a Tweet, which in and of itself is quite a unique notion. I’m not sure if they were ever sent as actual Tweets but if they were Mr. Hutchings followers are certainly an entertained bunch.
Some might scoff at this type of fiction, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect either when first approached with a request to review it but you might be surprised to learn that flash fiction has roots that are as old as Aesop’s Fables and that some of the world’s leading writers practiced the skill. Among them Anton Chekhov, O. Henry, Franz Kafka, H.P. Lovecraft, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Fredric Brown, to name a few. Perhaps the most famous was reportedly penned by Hemmingway in the example. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
One sample from the book which might give you an idea of the creativity involved and which made me chuckle out loud is this one:
“Rotting hands reached from the darkness. At last, someone was attracted to her for her brains.”
And here’s one of my own:
Two–Fisted Tweets by James Hutchings, in short, is a unique, humorous and satisfying, though too brief (puns intended), read.
4 stars out of 5
- The Alternative
- Southeast Wisconsin
P.S. In addition, the author has graciously agreed to give away 10 copies to the loyal readers of this blog. The first 10 readers to send me an e-mail with a request and format choice will receive a free electronic copy of the book direct from the author. For everyone else, the book can be found at Smashwords for .99. Two-Fisted Tweets
(Note: My e-mail address can be found in my profile at the top right sidebar.)
Additional Reading:
Evidently, Flash Fiction is even more popular than I thought. Here are a few websites dedicated to the craft. Some are actual flash writing while others are informational blogs and others are tutorials. I had no idea…
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