Book Review: I Am Holding Your Hand

I Am Holding Your Hand  is a rare treasure. This collection of short stories brought to us by new author Myfanwy Collins is a wonderful example of writing that feels fresh and intoxicating, while maintaining the sensibility of an author who writes like a seasoned pro. Many of the stories in this fine collection were previously published in literary reviews such as The Kenyon Review, PANK, and Flatmancrooked, to name a few. So it’s clear that while Collins is still new to the playing field, she is adept — and has been recognized as such — at short story writing of the highest quality.

I appreciated the number of pieces under 2000 words in this collection. So often with new writers, overwriting — both in terms of words on the page and in story arc — runs rampant. Collins proves herself skilled in offering readers the smallest glimpse into the life of a narrator which impacts as though we’ve been exposed to much more. I applaud her for her depth of vision and the way in which she accomplishes building so much within some of her shorter works. Her narratives contain a tenderness toward the difficult and the ugly, but they arrive at beautiful conclusions through masterful writing. There is a great deal to appreciate and enjoy in this collection, and I know I will return to it again and again.

Myfanwy Collins’ debut novel Echolocation is now also available.