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A review by bozzi1
Driving in the Dark by Jack Harding
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Spoiler Free Short Story Review
•
WOW.
.
In a recent discussion with a friend, I was saying that I’ve read a lot of short stories in my life and while most of them have been fine, good even, only a small percentage were memorable enough to stick with me. We agreed that in order to go from good but forgettable, to excellent, the story has to pack a punch and the shorter a story is, the bigger the punch needs to be.
•
Driving in the Dark is around 30 pages and it does pack a punch, but not the kind I was expecting. Instead of a sharp jab to the eye or an uppercut to the jaw, I got a body shot right to the solar plexus; it stole my breath and made me ache with a hurt that’s not going away anytime soon.
•
This is different from Jack’s previous writing as it isn’t horror. I would call it a love story; I could certainly feel the emotion Jack put into every word. I instantly connected to Riley’s journey, and yet each turn of page took me closer to despair. Whether you see the inevitable ending ahead of time or only in the last moments, it’s no less powerful. I won’t give any other details about the story but the feeling it left me with was similar to Stephen King’s story, The Last Rung on the Ladder.
ALL the feels. ALL the stars.
•
WOW.
.
In a recent discussion with a friend, I was saying that I’ve read a lot of short stories in my life and while most of them have been fine, good even, only a small percentage were memorable enough to stick with me. We agreed that in order to go from good but forgettable, to excellent, the story has to pack a punch and the shorter a story is, the bigger the punch needs to be.
•
Driving in the Dark is around 30 pages and it does pack a punch, but not the kind I was expecting. Instead of a sharp jab to the eye or an uppercut to the jaw, I got a body shot right to the solar plexus; it stole my breath and made me ache with a hurt that’s not going away anytime soon.
•
This is different from Jack’s previous writing as it isn’t horror. I would call it a love story; I could certainly feel the emotion Jack put into every word. I instantly connected to Riley’s journey, and yet each turn of page took me closer to despair. Whether you see the inevitable ending ahead of time or only in the last moments, it’s no less powerful. I won’t give any other details about the story but the feeling it left me with was similar to Stephen King’s story, The Last Rung on the Ladder.
ALL the feels. ALL the stars.