Flash Fiction Online #28, January 2016

“The Retelling of Jeremiah” by Kelly Sandoval

Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett

“The Retelling of Jeremiah” by Kelly Sandoval is an engaging fantasy about old Jeremiah. Given the ability to feel and live printed stories, he’s under pressure to resolve his life’s failings that anyone so dedicated to a single purpose has. For the sake of his daughter, he’ll say goodbye to his greatest love, his bookstore. As he closes it for the last time, he’s tempted to relive his life through his journal; maybe he can fix some disappointments. This flash fiction was a nice read.

FFO categorizes Naru Dames Sundar’s story “A Revolution in Four Courses” as fantasy, but it’s more regular fiction with a slender touch of science fiction. It tells the age-old story of traditions lost when a new culture moves in by armed force, and it tells it through Rathwan as he adjusts the food dishes his beloved restaurant serves. We can all wonder at what point in the demise of our treasured values we would lose the will to maintain them. The story didn’t work well for me as I got lost in the details around the various food dishes