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Hinting at Shadows Kindle Edition

4.8 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

No One Escapes Life Unscathed

Delve into the deeper reaches of the human condition and the darkness that lives there.
A girl haunted by her sister's drowning.
A boy desperate for his father's affection.
A woman forced to make a devastating decision.
A man trapped by his obsessions.

Experience tales of love, loss, murder, and madness through this collection of flash and micro fiction. Take a peek behind the smile of a stranger. Get a glimpse inside the heart of a friend. Scratch the surface and discover what is hidden beneath.

These stories will open your mind, tug at your thoughts, and allow you to explore the possibility that, even in the brightest moments, something is Hinting at Shadows.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Author's Note: Each selection is approximately 100 words, with a bonus section of Microbursts in which each story is told in 50 words or less.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N0DVWKO
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 14, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 757 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 133 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

About the author

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Sarah Brentyn
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Sarah Brentyn is an introvert who believes anything can be made better with soy sauce and wasabi.

She loves words and has been writing stories since she was nine years old. She talks to trees and apologizes to inanimate objects when she bumps into them.

When she’s not writing, you can find her strolling through cemeteries or searching for fairies.

She hopes to build a vacation home in Narnia someday. In the meantime, she lives with her family and a rainbow-colored, wooden cat who is secretly a Guardian.

You can find her online at www.sarahbrentyn.com

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
24 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers appreciate the book's writing style, with one noting how emotions are evoked with few words. The collection features short fictions, with one review highlighting the multifaceted nature of the stories. Customers find the book charming and beautiful, with touches of humor throughout. Customers praise the book's pacing and readability, with one mentioning it can be read over and over.

8 customers mention "Writing style"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, praising the author's mastery of the genre and beautiful prose. One customer notes how the brevity of words deepens the message, while another mentions how the author evokes emotions with few words.

"...The writing is spot on and at least 85% of all the stories make you wish for more info on what’s happening...." Read more

"...A beautiful and thought provoking introduction to the flash fiction that follows, it is also an introduction to Brentyn’s interpretation and..." Read more

"...more serious, but all of them have an edge, and many are really thought provoking...." Read more

"...The emotions flow spontaneously and so succinctly convey the hurt, the guilt, the fear, the regret and a myriad other emotions that each story..." Read more

6 customers mention "Story length"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the short fictions in this collection, with each piece being no more than 100 words, and one customer notes that the stories are multifaceted.

"...Here’s the thing, the title tells you exactly what to expect: short fictions...." Read more

"...the introduction to her Hinting At Shadows is one of the longest pieces in the whole book...." Read more

"This book delivered exactly what it promised: a collection of short--sometimes VERY short--stories that play around the edges of darkness...." Read more

"...Much like syllabic poetry, I’ve found this abbreviated fiction form is rich in meaning. In fact, the brevity of words deepens the message...." Read more

4 customers mention "Charm"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book charming and beautiful, with one customer noting its rich imagery and brilliant snapshots.

"...Instead, you get brilliant snapshots that work like poetry, but in prose, even if it’s not poetic prose...." Read more

"...A beautiful and thought provoking introduction to the flash fiction that follows, it is also an introduction to Brentyn’s interpretation and..." Read more

"...amazing how she's taken pain and fear and shame... and turned them into something beautiful that I want to go back and keep reading again." Read more

"...in this book range from a sliver to bite-sized, and are charming in a chilling kind of way. Best savoured rather than powered through." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the humor in the book, with some noting it touches on it occasionally, and one customer comparing the approach to a really good joke.

"...Throughout the collection, the approach is like a really good joke, in the sense of premise, build up, surprise, except that instead of laughter,..." Read more

"...Some of the pieces are humorous in tone, others more serious, but all of them have an edge, and many are really thought provoking...." Read more

"...journeys through more light-hearted moments, and even touches on humor occasionally...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, with one describing it as solid and another noting its breezy quality.

"...There are some solid entries here that could easily be made into a fully fleshed short story or even a book...." Read more

"...The book has a breezy enough quality that you could read it in on sitting, and it's very tempting to say to yourself, "Just one more...they're..." Read more

"...Sarah’s characters are stoic, resilient and powerful...." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read, with one mentioning it can be savored and another noting it can be read multiple times.

"...This is a book to be read over and again...." Read more

"...This is a book to be read leisurely, to be savored slowly and felt deeply." Read more

"A book to savour. highly recommended...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I honestly believe that what differentiates a 4 and 5-star rating for this collection is the mindset with which someone picks up the book. Here’s the thing, the title tells you exactly what to expect: short fictions. The writing is spot on and at least 85% of all the stories make you wish for more info on what’s happening. Instead, you get brilliant snapshots that work like poetry, but in prose, even if it’s not poetic prose.

    Throughout the collection, the approach is like a really good joke, in the sense of premise, build up, surprise, except that instead of laughter, you run a variety of emotions that range from sadness, to wonder, to shock.

    The fact is clear though, Sarah Brentyn can write and Hinting at Shadows is almost a sort of literary preview reel of great stories. There are some solid entries here that could easily be made into a fully fleshed short story or even a book. But that’s not the purpose of this collection, instead it’s meant to tantalize, to inspire, to serve as a snapshot or a glimpse within a much larger story that invites the reader to unleash their imagination. It definitely makes me wonder what she could bring forth with a long form work.

    As for the rating, it’s a 5 because the quality of writing, ideas, concepts, and dialogue is there. The only 4 star thing is that feeling of wanting more… and as a writer, I don’t think there’s a better reaction one could hope for.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Sarah Brentyn had me at the introduction. At one page, the introduction to her Hinting At Shadows is one of the longest pieces in the whole book. A beautiful and thought provoking introduction to the flash fiction that follows, it is also an introduction to Brentyn’s interpretation and enjoyment of flash. Brentyn compares “creating shadows with flash” to creating a mosaic from “shattered bits” and “individual fragments”, stating, “I love the beauty of broken things”.
    These flash fiction pieces, some only six sentences long, all written with syncopated syntax, rich imagery or spare, stark description, challenge the border between prose and poetry. Presented with snapshots of characters and situations, the reader is left to mull the ideas, to pursue their own conclusions. This is a book to be read over and again. These small stories are multifaceted and each reread will reveal something overlooked in previous reads, a marvel in fiction so short.

    *The night moved.
    Shadows formed something that crept closer toward us.
    He started to run, pulling me with him. But I reached for them.*

    This is what Sarah Brentyn does. She hints at shadows, she puts shadows on the page to hint at form; she goes to the morphing, creeping shadows that are within the moving dark of life. She picks up shadows and shards as a curious child, arranges them as an artist creating mosaics with words stories that refract and reflect like a small but multifaceted diamond.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2017
    Format: Paperback
    4.5*
    Hinting at Shadows looks at the darker side of humanity with evocative and fascinating descriptions of fractured minds, disintegrating relationships, and encompassing the spectrum of emotions, from sadness, loss, regret, hope and much more. Each piece of fiction, as the title suggests, hints at, or gives a brief glimpse of, the shadowy places in the minds and emotions of the individuals. The author’s haunting prose very cleverly invokes strong images with the minimum of words.

    I’ve had the book a few days now and, rather than reading it straight through, I keep dipping into it and so am able to appreciate a few pieces at a time. Each time they have the power, even if I’ve read them before, to shock, sadden, give me chills, make me think and even smile on occasion.

    Sarah Brentyn delivers something quite different, written beautifully with intuitive understanding and the ability to generate an emotional reaction.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This book delivered exactly what it promised: a collection of short--sometimes VERY short--stories that play around the edges of darkness. There's no overt violence or terror, but there's a persistent pull towards the shadowy side of human (occasionally not-quite-human) nature. Some of the pieces are humorous in tone, others more serious, but all of them have an edge, and many are really thought provoking. If I have any complaint, it's a somewhat unfair one, given that the book is meant to be all micro (flash, short-short, hint, whatever) fiction: I sometimes found myself wanting more from a particular scenario or character. I hope Ms. Brentyn follows up somewhere down the line with some longer works that will allow her vivid imagination to take an even deeper dive into these dark-ish places.

    The book has a breezy enough quality that you could read it in on sitting, and it's very tempting to say to yourself, "Just one more...they're small." But I'd recommend doling out these little gems more slowly, giving yourself time to consider and savor between each bite-sized story.
    One person found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Ali Isaac
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Flash Fiction - Not for the Faint-Hearted!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Good Flash is notoriously difficult to write, not that you’d know it from reading Hinting at Shadows, Sarah’s latest book. She makes it look deceptively easy. But the tales her words tell are anything but easy.

    I was entranced right from the very first story: Emily. I had been warned that these stories make you stop and think, go back, and read them again, and it’s true… I had to go back and read Emily several times. Perhaps it touched a nerve. It reminded me of my relationship with my own daughter, at once a beautiful and happy and sad thing.

    I turned the page to the next story: Regret, which ‘scoops you out like a cantaloupe’… who hasn’t felt like that at some point? Most of us are no strangers to regret.

    And so on through the book. These stories may be short, but they explode in your brain like tasty little book-bombs, full of deeper meaning and intensity. They’re not for the faint-hearted. They will lead you into the shadows of human nature, and that’s an uncomfortable place many prefer not to tread.

    I loved this book. In some ways it was challenging to read, because I identified with so many of the stories. But it was also beautifully and richly crafted. Brentyn has a skill with the written word that just leaves you breathless and wishing you could write like that. Even the introduction is a work of art.

    I also think she can see into people’s souls. How else can she lay so much of the reader open in the pages of her book?
  • GraemeCumming
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intricate Experiences That Touch Nerves
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I actually read this book some weeks ago, but it has taken me a while to reflect on it. In fairness, it took me a while to read it, but that was a deliberate choice I made.
    The book is a collection of short stories or, more accurately, flash fiction, a style of writing that I’m not overly familiar with. I have rediscovered my appreciation of short stories in recent years, which was what brought me to this book. What I found inside was an experience I hadn’t had before. Stories that were over in minutes (sometimes seconds), but that left me thinking. So, although I started out with the intention of ploughing my way through it, I came to realise that I could only read a few at a time. Like a fancy box of chocolates, if I’d wolfed those stories down, I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate them.
    As the title suggests, dark places are visited throughout the book. What Brentyn has done here is create intricate experiences that touch nerves through some carefully crafted narratives. This is not a book that will appeal to everyone. My own feeling initially was of uncertainty. Yet, by being patient, and savouring the morsel-sized tales, I came to appreciate the author’s mastery as a storyteller. There are lessons to be learnt here for all writers.
  • Sacha Black
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Wordish Masterpiece of Description and Beauty
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This is a book of short stories, really short stories, micro flash and microbursts. Perfect for a reader with no time. I read this entire book in about an hour, and boy was it a delightful hour. Brentyn has this magical ability to cut to the source of humanity. To exquisitely examine truths, but not the ones filled with light and joy, oh no, her skills lie on the more twisted side of the line. She cuts to the dark truths were all harbouring deep in our psyche. The secrets we don’t want people to know, the choices were terrified we might make. This book is a beautiful portrayal of the half of humanity we don’t discuss. Her descriptive skills are frankly ridiculous. I wish I could write like that. Her words sing off the page with the poise of a ballerina and the skill of a world-class opera singer.

    If you fancy something different, something that will challenge you, change you, scratch the darker side of you, I highly recommend Brentyn’s book.

    I only have one criticism. It wasn’t long enough. She needs to write a novel… Now that would be spectacular.
  • Anne Goodwin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Speaking volumes in few words
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Hinting at Shadows is a collection of very short fiction, mostly around 99 words but some speaking volumes in only six. Grouped around themes of mental health (including the wonderful “Go Ask Alice” about hearing voices and “The Importance of Forks” about OCD); relationships (often lost or murderous) and addictions (to drugs, alcohol, banal TV) that keep the shadows at bay, they’re dark and witty, with touches of humour (such as the burnt-out guardian angel and the partner ditched when he ‘replaced all her chocolate with carob’).

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