Spin a Black Yarn: Novellas

Malerman (Daphne) has woven together a quintet of strange novellas. Fans of fantastic fiction should find a story that speaks to them. That story could be about two brothers, once triplets, who concoct a bizarre plan to avenge their brother’s murder. Fans of grim humor might enjoy the tale of a rich but boorish couple who pay for a very thorough house-cleaning service. Science-fiction fans will gravitate to the story about a trip through the planet Jupiter that evokes Ray Bradbury at his most terrifying. Malerman has shown himself to be a genre chameleon, going from the apocalypse in Bird Box to Westerns in Unbury Carol, and he continues to evolve with this wide-ranging collection. While Malerman tries his hand in different genres, he also utilizes fiction-writing techniques that could be used in any MFA classroom, such as how deathbed confession Argyle creates slow-burning tension or how the haunted-sibling tale Half the House Is Haunted handles multiple perspectives across a lifetime.