The
Kissing Game, Short Stories, by Aidan Chambers is a collection of Short
Stories and Flash Fiction written for Young Adults.
Summary
The Kissing Game is a
collection of sixteen short stories. The
subject, genre, and length vary from story to story. Some longer stories have a traditional novel
style, just shorter. Some are character
dialogues. The inside jacket cover of
the book explains that in this collection, the author “examines moments of
truth in which a conversation or an event suddenly reveals a surprising,
sometimes life-altering meaning.” (jacket).
The Tower, is
a fantasy ghost-story. In this story, a
father and son argue over whether or not a tower exists on a piece of land both
have hiked separately. Both are
convinced they are correct and the discussion takes an ugly turn. The father is convinced the son is “stupid
and stubborn” (p. 81), while the son is convinced the father is untrusting and
unreasonable. Martin, the son, on his
mother’s suggestion, hikes off again to verify the placement of the tower so
they can prove it to the father later on.
The father returns from his hike, telling his wife that he discovered
from a native that there had once been a tower there and it had burned down, as
an event in a tragic love story. Mrs.
Phelps, acting on mother’s intuition, insists they go and find their son. What they discover is unimaginable.
The Weather Forecast, is a short, three page dialogue. The two characters encounter each other on a
bus and have a discussion about the weather.
They each decide, it doesn’t much matter what the weather forecast says,
they will “take what comes” (p.195), and yet they can’t stop talking about the
forecast.
The author includes the final
story, “A Handful of Wheat”, because
the targeted audience of this book is 14-17 years old, and he finished this
story when he was 17 years old. This
story is a memoir about going to his grandparent’s house with his mother after
his grandfather had died.
The book concludes with an
author’s note on “Flash Fiction”. He
explains the characteristics of what he calls, “cutting edge literature”
(p.216) and relates why he is interested in pursuing this form of storytelling. He explains that this new form of literature
is popular because it is easier to read and write on the small screens of smart
phones and eReaders.
Impression
I chose this book because of
the description in the jacket that says the author “examines moments of truth
in which a conversation or an event suddenly reveals a surprising, sometimes
life-altering meaning” (Jacket). This made me think that the book would kind of
be a feel-good, self-help book, kind of like “Chicken Soup for the Soul”. But I was wrong.
This collection does include
a few stories in which the characters and/or plot are developed enough to
create a “life-altering” meaning. A
couple stories leave you at the end saying, “whoa, didn’t expect that”. And finally some stories leave you hoping as
you read them that there will be something life altering at the end, because
the story itself is tedious.
Some stories in the
collection left you wanting more, wishing you knew what happened next to the
character. A couple stories were
sufficient in length and story development.
A few seemed like useless rambling.
And some, despite the short length, were just too long, and you were
happy when they ended.
The author is British and so
the text is English. It is not quite the English that American
teenagers are used to reading. Many
American teenagers may read the first story and discard the book because the
language is unfamiliar. However, I can
definitely think of some artsy, culturally aware American teenagers who would
revel in the prose and flash fiction genre.
A savvy librarian can get this unique book in the right hands.
Library Uses
I had many differing opinions
on all of the stories. But, the positive
virtue here is that almost every story did invoke an opinion. In a time where educators are called to
stimulate critical thinking, a book like this can be an exercise in this
area. However, librarians and teachers
do need to read the book before using it in a classroom as a few stories do
depict sexual encounters and may be inappropriate in some settings.
In our SLIS 5420 discussions
about short stories, one of the students had suggested using short story
readings in an open mic night format. I
think this book would have several selections which would work well in an event
like this in a high school or public library.
Professional Reviews
British author and Printz Award winner Chambers
(Postcards from No Man’s Land, 2002) returns with a provocative and varied
collection of shorts for teen readers. The author isn’t one to shy away from
the more sinister aspects of life, nor is he heavy-handed in his treatment of
them. Touching on a wide scope of topics, his spare, succinct prose prods
readers out of complacency and gets them thinking critically on a varied number
of issues: death, sex and violence, among them. Whether asking readers to ponder
the meaning of life and religion in the almost Beckettlike “The God Debate,”
re-evaluate their own attitudes toward the planet and our increasingly
use-once-and-dispose attitude in “Thrown Out” or consider the harsh realities
of human trafficking that permeates all walks of life with “Sanctuary,” he
introduces readers into the chaotic and often ugly world of adulthood. His
sophisticated yet simple style is perfectly suited for an exploration of the
new form of flash fictions—multi-genre drabbles that top out at 1,000 words—as
well as standard short-story form. Thoughtful, challenging reading for teens on
the cusp of adulthood. (Short stories. 15 & up)
--Kirkus, 2011
In 16 short stories—three previously published, one
written when the author was a teenager—Chambers (the Dance Sequence) takes an
almost microscopically close view of teenagers' thoughts and interactions, with
characters grappling with issues of faith, authority, relationships, and
identity. Several stories are extremely short—in an afterword, Chambers places
them in the "flash fiction" genre. "They are like a flash of
light, a spark, which allows one quick view of a whole scene or person or
event," he writes, noting they "are suited to writing and reading on
the small screens of computers, iPhones, and eReaders." The briefest
stories consist solely of dialogue, yet those written in prose can also have
the feel of a script. Chambers often employs 11th-hour twists: the titular
story veers into horror, "The Tower" into the paranormal. Vladimir
Nabokov's description of the Russian word "toskà," included in a story
of the same name, perhaps best captures the spirit of the collection, which is
permeated with "a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long
for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning."
Chambers leaves readers with much to contemplate. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)
--Publishers Weekly, 2011
References
Chambers, A. (2011). The kissing game: Short stories. New
York: Amulet Books.
Children's Book Review: The Kissing Game: Short Stories by
Aidan Chambers, Abrams/Amulet. (2011, January 24). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8109-9716-5
THE KISSING GAME by Aidan Chambers | Kirkus. (2011, February
15). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/aidan-chambers/kissing-game/
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