Fluster Magazine

“A picture says a thousand words. Everybody’s heard the cliché, but it is true, and this is very evident
with Fluster magazine’s Tell Me A Tale anthology. Each of the stories has been inspired by a picture
from the magazine’s Flickr group, and in the book itself, each story is preceded by the picture that
brought about its inception. Thus the intrigue for this anthology is seeing what stories can be spun
from one photo. Even something as simple as a circus tent ignites one of the more intriguing stories
of the volume. Not only is that story inspired by an image, it has many interesting images of its own
– a door labelled ‘DO ENTER’ leads to a funhouse world straight out of Terry Gilliam.

Tell Us A Tale is truly an anthology respecting the importance of images in writing. Each story is vivid
and perfectly complements their preceding picture in their own, often unexpected ways. The first
story, ‘The Rain’ is only two pages long, but doesn’t waste a word describing the horror felt by the
characters, ending with a twist that is humorous without lessening the emotion of the scenario.
Both the prose and the photo of ‘The Dragon’ unite to create a sense of childhood nostalgia, and the
wide-eyed girl of ‘Guerillas Marching Down’ makes a wonderful complement to prose that is both
childlike and mature.”

Gareth Barsby, UK

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“Tell Me A Tale brings together stories from all over the world, with authors of different ages and nationalities. The collection has a remarkable range of styles and themes. We have tramps quoting Keats, conversations with the dead and moving memories from the past. We enter strange worlds, wild imaginations and the obscure Art world. We learn about the poignant loss of memory and loved ones, of growing old and of moving on.

From the first story, the reader is taught to expect the unexpected. Short, but sweet, The Rain by Hannah-Jamie Duncombe is the perfect opener with a clever twist.

Some of the stories are likely to put a tear in your eye. Guerillas Marching Down by Mateo Jarrín Cuvi is well paced and superbly written. It’s written from the point of view of a musician looking back at his childhood. His parents had an ever hovering fear that the guerrillas would march down into the city, but on reflection, there was something else much scarier that was taking over his childhood. Visits to Miami, which at first seem like a small holiday where he had a ritual of eating at Taco Bell and playing on the beach, turned into something a lot more upsetting and put him on his path to become a musician. 

Another heart wrenching tale comes from Michelle Tudor. In Distance, an elderly man makes a train journey to visit an old friend. He is overcome with emotion when he sees her again for the first time in decades, and as he reminisces, the reader can feel the pain and confusion of his many regrets. This theme of growing old is explored again in Amongst the Rushes by Hanne Larsson. Both stories succeed in making the reader feel uncomfortable with the inevitability of fading away as we grow old. 

Amongst these thought provoking stories, we also have tales of hope. In Payback by Richard O’Callaghan we witness a conversation between a kindly old lady and a burglar who has just broken into her house. It’s a hopeful story that shows everyone has the ability to change the course of their lives. Similarly, Stone Divide by Andrea Weiner shows the turning point in an unhappy model’s life, as she determines to find a better way of living. 

Tell Me A Tale finishes with the beautiful and aptly named The End by Eve Murray. This final story follows a young author as she tries to write the closing, most painful chapter of her novel, and come to terms with the loss of her brother years ago. Every good book should have an ending like this, one that lingers for a while after you’ve turned the final page.”

Bundle Of Books (www.bundleofbooks.org)

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Have you read  TELL ME A TALE ? Let us know what you think about it.

Both the paperback and Kindle editions are now out.

Click the images to buy a copy today!

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