Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dear B, Who knows how I would start? When was the last time I had to formulate an opening. There was a time I’d have thought of one, second thing in the morning, after thinking of you. There was a time. The best books are the ones that make you want to write; your mindContinue reading “38”

In the light of day, he was sallow and all angles, a chin that was strong and weak at the same time. His blue eyes grew darker and you could see traces of his teenage acne on his cheekbones. I hated seeing him in daylight; I found him so ordinary, borderline unattractive, which would circleContinue reading “Padraig”

There were things that were obvious, and some that weren’t. She was definitely not normal. On her first full day at the house, she climbed up the slope and sat on the white rocks at the top of the property to “look at the sea,” as the previous resident hag had advised. The creeping bushContinue reading “The Witch at No. 13”

If I believed in reincarnation, I told my former shrink at one of our last sessions, I’d say I was probably Russian in a former life. She laughed and said, I can see that (she had always tolerated this kind of quasi-serious flippancy from me, but then grilled me when I was glib). I toldContinue reading “Anna Karenina, or the fine balance between fate and fortunes”

It’s good to be back, and oh so good to be back writing about “Boy with Luv” by BTS feat. Halsey, for the simple reason that it gave me many moments of happiness in this godforsaken year. Hear me out. I don’t consider myself ARMY (Adorable Representative M.C for Youth), the name for fans, notContinue reading “Earworm: Boy with Luv”

Someone leaves a bottle of pop in the middle of the table. Pop foam goes all across the table, all 360 degrees; the asshole had shaken the bottle before placing it there. We all get up off our bench seats in unison, pushing each other out of the way, our rubber soles already feeling sticky.Continue reading “Earworm: Cornflake Girl”

There were periods when I allowed myself to be governed by astrology or divination, in one form or another. My chronic anxiety, although not named and recognised then, made it tempting for at least one aspect of the day to be assured. It didn’t matter whether the prediction was bad or never came true, onlyContinue reading “Starstruck”

An ex boyfriend sent me an email today saying he was having a child, not having quite planned it. It – the email – wasn’t completely out of the blue – we are amicable and usually kept in touch once or twice a year – but it was still a surprise for me to readContinue reading “All my exes end up with accidental children”

I am 40 years old and still don’t know how to be myself. I was reading Eve Ensler’s The Apology because I thought I was ready for it, for the internal reckoning to come crashing down on my head as I let someone else tell me about their ruining in the perpetrator’s voice–and then IContinue reading “Games of Distraction”

In the dream, his name was Rolf but his face was Rafa’s (I suppose my brain is prone to culturally appropriating Germanic names, my own included). Anyway, the dream starts a few months into the COVID lockdown and he and I have not seen each other in a while. It didn’t help, apparently, that atContinue reading “Rolf/Rafa”