Glass Dolls by S.E. Holz In Review

It has been a long time coming, but here is my review of S.E. Holz's(L.C. Schäfer) debut book - Glass Dolls: A Collection of Short Stories. I had long-promised to do a review-for-a-review with L.C. who was going to review my own, which you can find out details about here.

I reviewed the book a while ago on Amazon, but had not got round to it yet on here yet, so here goes...#

The Actual Review

L.C. has always been one of my favourite writers on the platform, though I confess I have yet to catch up on her monumental "story a day" challenge that she is undertaking along with the incredible Rachel Deeming and Gerard DiLeo, but, I know whenever I dip into her mind, I'm going to be entertained. Sometimes outraged at the world we live in, sometimes creeped out, sometimes a little humbled at her exquisite ability to tell a story.

So, I knew I was going to love this book really before I read it. I had read many of the stories before. But, as my good pal Stephen A. Roddewigg pointed out in his own review of L.C.'s and my own book, there is something special about the ritual of reading an actual book that made these stories seep into my mind deeper.

It really shows that L.C. loves to take fairytales, well-known stories and tropes and give them a modern, and unique spin. There is also a clear influence of Roald Dahl throughout the stories in this collection - which is no bad thing.

What impressed me the most about this collection is that it is easy to just pick up and read. The stories are short without feeling flimsy and the execution of darkness and humour, social commentary and not being too preachy and just great storytelling is masterful in places.

There are a total of 11 short stories and a truly magnificent long-form poem that really sat with me for days after I read it.

Everything from mermaids, pigs, and the gingerbread man to the doggy uprising and inside the mind of a stalker (that story is perhaps my favourite of the collection for L.C.'s insightful and well-balanced handling of a difficult subject).

The book made me laugh out loud at times, angry at the injustice, shocked at least once and just humbled by her abilities as a writer.

My Final Verdict

As is the way of these sorts of things, I wanted to collect my thoughts together and summarise my verdict of this book. If you have been following L.C.'s writing on Vocal and enjoy it, want to support her further or just want a great book to read, then you should buy this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can imagine dipping into stories again in the future - it really does have the rereadability (that's obviously a word) factor. There is something for everyone and even stories that are familiar in terms of characters or themes, feel fresh and unique.

If you have bought it and read it and haven't reviewed it yet on Amazon, as someone with a self-published book myself, I know how important reviews can be, so I would encourage you to put your thoughts down on Amazon. You don't need to write something you'd read in the NY Times or The Guardian!

I am looking forward to the next book from L.C. whenever it surfaces in the future!

Here is a link so there is no excuse for not knowing how to buy it:

Look out for my review of the rather brilliant, Poppy's first poetry collection Wasted Love, soon!