Statue by Marianne Micros

Statue by Marianne Micros is a collection of stories where each tale stands tall. Blurred is the line between fantasy and reality as the unique stories blend life and art. The stories use a combination of traditional and ancient elements of storytelling and writing, adding to the mix of contemporary issues and modern complexities. Marianne Micros masterfully congers fairy tale characters and fantastical imagery, tied into modern life, to achieve magic in story writing.

“This collection carried me to a time and place of parallel universal happenings.”

This collection carried me to a time and place of parallel universal happenings. Micros did this so seamlessly that there was no question I was swept up in the realness of each story. All the while realizing that ghosts, devils, selkies, and hobgoblins don’t exist. Do they? The stories had me happily questioning reality and fantasy, and the blending of art and life into a perfect kaleidoscope of colourful overlapping scenarios.

“In these strange, off-beat, sometimes disturbing tales, the individual ‘I’ shows up not just sole, but isolated; not just alone, but lonesome; not self-possessed, but confused, and trapped in some labyrinthine conundrum. Micros’ stories are fairy tales for adults, wherein each ‘I’ meets or becomes a new self – usually damned, sometimes redeemed, but always haunting and memorable.” – George Elliott Clarke, Poet Laureate of Canda (from the back cover of Statue by Marianne Micros)

The story “Similes” brought forward the sexual philandering and goings-on within the Creative Writing Department of any institute of higher learning. In “Statue” a woman has no recollection of a nude photo of herself with a statue taken while on holiday. A selkie tries to hide her odd features in “The Selkie’s Daughter” and the lengths she will go to do so. In “The Pleaser”, a high-end call girl encounters time travel. “The Guardians” find elderly cousins caring for an ancient village in Greece. There are fifteen stories in this collection, all created with the author’s keen interpretation of folktales, magical realism, and the supernatural. Micros’ imagination and skill as a writer are evident in these superb tales.

No matter what mythical or elaborate setting is encountered in each unique story, make no mistake – the human heart is enveloped in every one of them. Statue is alive with all that’s just beyond our grasp and the stories beat with a rhythm that pulls on the strings of the human spirit. Pick up a copy and experience this wonderful storyteller. Statue is an excellent plank to walk between myth and human experiences.

Marianne Micros‘s debut short story collection Eye was shortlisted for the 2019 Danuta Gleed Literary Award and for the 2019 Governor General’s Award for English-language fiction. She is a retired professor of English at the University of Guelph, where she taught Renaissance literature, Scottish literature, folktales, and creative writing. She lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Guernica Editions (June 1 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 158 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1771837985
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1771837989

Carrie Stanton

Managing Editor

TMR’s Managing Editor Carrie Stanton has a BA in Political Science from the University of Calgary. She is the author of The Jewel and Beast Bot, and picture books, Emmie and the Fierce Dragon and The Gardener. Carrie loves to write stories that grow wings and transport readers everywhere. She reads and enjoys stories from every genre.