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Stories (Within): An Anthology of Stories Within Stories
The tradition of a story framed by another story traces back before recorded history. The snake has been eating its own tail for at least 7000 years. This anthology is radically new but depends on something so ancient it may be intrinsically human. Authors wrote varied pieces-contemporary, historical, futuristic, fantastical-in which a character tells a story--but the authors did not know what the story within would be! The question underlying the exercise is Are stories so fundamental to our humanity that any story can serve as both a frame around, and an illustration within, any other? Thanks to the talent of these skilled storytellers, the result is a marvelous series of matryoshka dolls which nest inside one another, proof that experimental fiction can be fun to read, and that we exist encircled by narrative.
187 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 5, 2022
About the author
Benjamin Gorman
21 books128 followersBenjamin Gorman is a high school English teacher. He lives in Independence, Oregon with his partner, bibliophile and guillotine aficionado Chrystal. His first novel was The Sum of Our Gods, followed by Corporate High School, then The Digital Storm, then The Convention of Fiends, Book 1: Don’t Read This Book, and, most recently, The Convention of Fiends, Book 2: You Were Warned. He's also the author of two poetry collections, When She Leaves Me and This Uneven Universe. He believes in human beings and the power of their stories. He places his confidence in his students and the world they will choose to create if given the chance.
For a much more extensive biography, click here!
For a much more extensive biography, click here!
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 29, 2022
First of all, this is a fascinating (and brilliant!) idea. A story by one author folds in upon itself and sprouts stories by other authors. Like a musical fugue, lines tangle and intersect; foreground becomes background becomes deeper background as new characters and settings continuously emerge. How this was achieved is deceptively simple: each author wrote a story in two halves, the first half ending with “…and now I’ll tell you a story.”; the editors then stitched the halves together with halves from other stories, and the result is this mesmerizing Celtic-knot pattern of words.
Second, there’s the variety of the stories themselves. Apart from the various authors writing in (sometimes obviously) individual styles, there are nearly as many genres as there are authors. There’s far future sci-fi (the “frame” that starts the whole collection), second-world fantasy, several types of “real life” drama, a ghost story (which takes a surprise turn in its second half), detective noir that unravels in quite unexpected ways, and several others.
Third, there’s the question: does this actually work? As I started reading, my answer was an enthusiastic “yes”. Later, some of the stories began to seem a little forced, with the “let me tell you a story” stuck in the middle of the action as a gimmick to move to the next fragment. Some of the transitions also seemed jarring. Still later, it began to make more sense. Life is like that, after all (and this point is overtly stated in at least one of these tales): we don’t experience neat plotlines or everything wrapping up nicely after a certain number of paragraphs — and sometimes, someone does come into our situation and say, “Let me tell you a story”.
These changes in my perception of this book happened because I read it slowly, bit by bit. If I had sat down and plowed though the whole thing, I might have had a very different experience. But that (of course) is probably true of all books. Books often provide that “story within” our life story, and this book is a series of stories within stories within stories within the readers’ stories. (Or also within the authors' other stories: at least one of these has characters and situations from the author's other books.) So my question, “Does it work?” may be answered differently according to the reader’s experiences, and maybe that is what this book is about.
Steven E. Scribner, author of the "Tond" Series.
Second, there’s the variety of the stories themselves. Apart from the various authors writing in (sometimes obviously) individual styles, there are nearly as many genres as there are authors. There’s far future sci-fi (the “frame” that starts the whole collection), second-world fantasy, several types of “real life” drama, a ghost story (which takes a surprise turn in its second half), detective noir that unravels in quite unexpected ways, and several others.
Third, there’s the question: does this actually work? As I started reading, my answer was an enthusiastic “yes”. Later, some of the stories began to seem a little forced, with the “let me tell you a story” stuck in the middle of the action as a gimmick to move to the next fragment. Some of the transitions also seemed jarring. Still later, it began to make more sense. Life is like that, after all (and this point is overtly stated in at least one of these tales): we don’t experience neat plotlines or everything wrapping up nicely after a certain number of paragraphs — and sometimes, someone does come into our situation and say, “Let me tell you a story”.
These changes in my perception of this book happened because I read it slowly, bit by bit. If I had sat down and plowed though the whole thing, I might have had a very different experience. But that (of course) is probably true of all books. Books often provide that “story within” our life story, and this book is a series of stories within stories within stories within the readers’ stories. (Or also within the authors' other stories: at least one of these has characters and situations from the author's other books.) So my question, “Does it work?” may be answered differently according to the reader’s experiences, and maybe that is what this book is about.
Steven E. Scribner, author of the "Tond" Series.
July 29, 2022
An interesting dive into what a story is and how stories weave in our every day life, even if we don't think of them as stories. The different contributing authors each have their own flavor, so there is a lot of variety in how each story is told.
It's a long and winding journey to the center, so let go of how you think stories should be read and enjoy the twists, turns, and scenery on the way. Since the stories build on each other, they also resolve off of each other too, making the conclusions more satisfying as you near the end, and the feeling of something unfinished disappears.
Overall, it was fun to read, and the payoff of all the stories resolving and building off another makes for a great experience.
It's a long and winding journey to the center, so let go of how you think stories should be read and enjoy the twists, turns, and scenery on the way. Since the stories build on each other, they also resolve off of each other too, making the conclusions more satisfying as you near the end, and the feeling of something unfinished disappears.
Overall, it was fun to read, and the payoff of all the stories resolving and building off another makes for a great experience.
June 29, 2022
There is a clever device being used in Stories (Within) Anthology that even the title teases the reader with. The idea of nesting stories is intriguing: a frame story within a frame story within another and so on. At the middle, where metaphorically, each story had been taken out and opened like one half of a nesting doll, there is a large pause, a moment of tension—will the stories be finished? Do they resolve well, or do they cause the reader pain? The answer is both. As the ends of the stories begin to rapidly appear and be placed back together one could say they are renested, but I feel that they are put together whole and displayed at the end. Each writer created their own world and short story that was able to be cracked open and woven together. The overarching narrative dealt with the peace of stories and their control versus the lack of control of the outside world. I feel that this is the writers’ domain. They have the control and shape the narrative. Readers have both the comfort of endings, but they cannot change the story they are told in the moment. They do, however, know that the writer will write an ending. This might be the most comfort they can attain in a world without control and full of hazards and unknowns.
12 authors explored this format and did so excellently. It was a fun read even as it was puzzling. The form is a creative take on the frame story. To have so many frames going creates a Meta aspect, especially when Grandpa in “Storytellers” nods to the setup of the anthology. Several stories are science fiction or speculative and others are more literary. This dynamic adds tension. Every story is does its role well in the nesting and is well written. Very worth reading and experiencing the form.
12 authors explored this format and did so excellently. It was a fun read even as it was puzzling. The form is a creative take on the frame story. To have so many frames going creates a Meta aspect, especially when Grandpa in “Storytellers” nods to the setup of the anthology. Several stories are science fiction or speculative and others are more literary. This dynamic adds tension. Every story is does its role well in the nesting and is well written. Very worth reading and experiencing the form.
August 5, 2022
I find the structure interesting, but it sometimes stretches believability that a particular character in one genre could tell a story in another genre. Especially the transition from fantasy to modern mainstream threw me for a loop.
But no question this is all about anticipation. You want to know how the early stories end, but you have to read through the middle ones to get there. It would probably help if I had a dedicated block of time to read through the whole book in one go, but who has that luxury these days?
With 12 nested stories it taxes the reader’s mental stack depth, with too many pushes before the pops start happening.
The inner stories are more coherent due to the proximity of the start and end of each one.
I applaud the authors for this interesting experiment. I can imagine how difficult it must have been to adapt a character in each story to become a storyteller themself and then tell the next-nested story which may be beyond the ken of a character anchored in a particular genre. (This was jarring in a couple of transitions.)
I will go back and reread some of the stories beginnings and endings sequentially, without the intervening stories.
Thanks for a challenging read!
But no question this is all about anticipation. You want to know how the early stories end, but you have to read through the middle ones to get there. It would probably help if I had a dedicated block of time to read through the whole book in one go, but who has that luxury these days?
With 12 nested stories it taxes the reader’s mental stack depth, with too many pushes before the pops start happening.
The inner stories are more coherent due to the proximity of the start and end of each one.
I applaud the authors for this interesting experiment. I can imagine how difficult it must have been to adapt a character in each story to become a storyteller themself and then tell the next-nested story which may be beyond the ken of a character anchored in a particular genre. (This was jarring in a couple of transitions.)
I will go back and reread some of the stories beginnings and endings sequentially, without the intervening stories.
Thanks for a challenging read!
July 29, 2022
The works in the “Stories (Within)” anthology were designed to be experienced in a specific order---from start to finish—to get the full effect of its deliberate 'nesting doll' or 'ouroboros' effect.
Challenging the reader with the question of whether or not there is true meaning in the Universe, or if meaning exists only in the tales humanity tells itself, the fragmentary nature of the pieces evokes a feeling similar to scrolling through streaming services at two in the morning.
A long-haul space pilot starts the ball rolling, and the reader is soon pulled from scene to scene, character to character, while interest grows. Shards of scenes catch the imagination, but are gone before they are resolved, or any connecting theme is discerned. Voices and figures come and go, tension is built but not released, experiences become layered, achieving a mysterious depth and richness.
Then, as more clues rapidly drop, the code begins to crack. The reader is rewarded with an 'ah ha' moment, after which the disparate threads are rapidly pulled towards a more complete whole---but a question lingers: is this sense of closure genuine, or is it a pareidolia effect generated by the reader's expectations?
Overall, the experimental concept is intriguing and successful, and while the story-within-a-story-within-a-story device can be a bit self-aware at times, it never detracts from the delightful experience and high-caliber writing.
Challenging the reader with the question of whether or not there is true meaning in the Universe, or if meaning exists only in the tales humanity tells itself, the fragmentary nature of the pieces evokes a feeling similar to scrolling through streaming services at two in the morning.
A long-haul space pilot starts the ball rolling, and the reader is soon pulled from scene to scene, character to character, while interest grows. Shards of scenes catch the imagination, but are gone before they are resolved, or any connecting theme is discerned. Voices and figures come and go, tension is built but not released, experiences become layered, achieving a mysterious depth and richness.
Then, as more clues rapidly drop, the code begins to crack. The reader is rewarded with an 'ah ha' moment, after which the disparate threads are rapidly pulled towards a more complete whole---but a question lingers: is this sense of closure genuine, or is it a pareidolia effect generated by the reader's expectations?
Overall, the experimental concept is intriguing and successful, and while the story-within-a-story-within-a-story device can be a bit self-aware at times, it never detracts from the delightful experience and high-caliber writing.
February 8, 2023
This is not a book to pick up and put down. It’s a book that demands a commitment from the reader to keep going. And it beautifully rewards that commitment. Each story follows its own separate arc, up to the point where someone will tell or hear another tale. Then it stops and another story is told, then another, then another, until a point is reached where one story responds to what’s been heard, then another, then another. And if you can’t imagine how that will work, you’ll have to read the book.
What truly impressed me was the way the stories, all told by different authors, set in entirely different times and places, somehow all fit together, with clever references between, repeated themes, and a sense of completeness and closure by the end. I don’t know how this was done, but I loved it, admired it, and thoroughly enjoyed the read.
Disclosure: I wanted to read this simply because I couldn’t imagine how it would work. It works great!
What truly impressed me was the way the stories, all told by different authors, set in entirely different times and places, somehow all fit together, with clever references between, repeated themes, and a sense of completeness and closure by the end. I don’t know how this was done, but I loved it, admired it, and thoroughly enjoyed the read.
Disclosure: I wanted to read this simply because I couldn’t imagine how it would work. It works great!
August 17, 2022
• TITLE: A Well-Executed Concept & Fun Read
• An intriguing anthology of intertwining stories that poses and answers an interesting question: "Are story structures so engrained in our humanity that literally one can be inserted inside another, and that one inserted in a third, etc., and still make sense?" You'll find the answer here (spoiler: the answer is an emphatic "YES!"). I personally love that each story is in a different voice and genre. I found the book enjoyable to read, with so many good stories. I am very proud and lucky to have a short story included in this anthology and I would LOVE to work with these wonderful authors again. So much good talent here! I think you'll enjoy how it all comes together in the end.
• An intriguing anthology of intertwining stories that poses and answers an interesting question: "Are story structures so engrained in our humanity that literally one can be inserted inside another, and that one inserted in a third, etc., and still make sense?" You'll find the answer here (spoiler: the answer is an emphatic "YES!"). I personally love that each story is in a different voice and genre. I found the book enjoyable to read, with so many good stories. I am very proud and lucky to have a short story included in this anthology and I would LOVE to work with these wonderful authors again. So much good talent here! I think you'll enjoy how it all comes together in the end.
October 31, 2022
The theme of this anthology was oddball enough that I knew I had to contribute. We were asked to write a short story in which one character tells another a story, followed by a response … without filling in the story that was told. That space would be filled with another contributor’s tale, so that all the stories were nested like matryoshka dolls. The result is a little weird and a lot miraculous, with the stories speaking to each other across the pages about the power of storytelling to change lives.
August 6, 2022
Great fun to read and so creative to have multiple authors masterfully weave stories together like this. Kanereyka. By Rick Cook reads like a short YA story, complete with unrequited love, foolish adventures with disastrous results, leaving the reader hoping for a happy ending. Spoiler alert: things rarely end well in deep dark caves!
Enjoy this creative endeavor!
Angela Anastasakis
Enjoy this creative endeavor!
Angela Anastasakis
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews