The Clock in My Mother's House by Annalisa Crawford - Book Review

The Clock in My Mother's House by Annalisa Crawford

Publication Date: 10th Jan 2023

Genre: Short Story Anthology 

4 Stars 

One Liner: A wonderful collection of short stories (no theme) 

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This book is a collection of short stories selected as finalists/ winners for various awards. Hence there is no common theme or underlying thread that connects them. The writing styles are also different. The best part is that no short story drags or feels boring. Each piece is concise and poignant in its own way. 

As with most anthologies, I loved some stories, enjoyed a few, and wasn’t that impressed by a couple of them. Here’s a list of the stories in the collection: 

The Clock in My Mother’s House Runs Backwards: You can guess the storyline from the title. But is it what it is? How does it affect the characters? It is beautiful and sad. 

The Woman in the Van: Why did the old mysterious woman stop at this small town? What’s with the teen grieving his dead mother? This is an emotional tale that ends exactly where it should. Bittersweet and hopeful. 

Vera Says: Does the GPS voice have a mind of its own? If so, what are its intentions? This is a short piece that seems almost causal but ends with an abrupt twist. The contrast highlights how things can change in an instant and spiral out of control. 

All the Magpies Come Out to Play: This story is set during the Covid lockdown. It has a slight dystopian feel to it with a reined-in emotional display. An interesting take on the topic. 

A Thousand Pieces of You: Written in the second-person POV, the story is laced with melancholy, confusion, frustration, helplessness, and pain. It is sad but with a subtly hopeful ending.  

Click: How does the young narrator deal with the sudden, unexplained change in her life? Do the pictures she clicks comfort her? This is a story of family, relationships, adjustments, coping, and resilience. The almost detached narration keeps the emotions from overwhelming the reader. 

One Minute Silence: It takes just one moment to change several lives forever. The story is presented in snippets that increase tension and accelerate the plot. It’s powerful and makes a lasting impression. Easily one of my favorites in the collection. 

Black Dog: This is a little too short and vague for me. The black dog seems to be a metaphor for anxiety or depression, maybe grief. 

The Fear of Ghosts: An interesting version of a haunted house plot but with a blind protag. This is my kind of horror story. I love it. That ending… perfectly sinister.  

Adventures in My Own Back Garden: What does the narrator’s garden mean to them? Why is it so important in their life? This is such a heartwarming story! A rollercoaster ride of emotions that ends on a hopeful note. A beautiful way to end the collection. 

To summarize, The Clock in My Mother's House is one of the best anthologies by a single author I’ve read in recent times. That’s because even the simplest of stories have a deeper meaning once you take the time to think about the character and their actions. 

Thank you, Book Sirens and author Annalisa Crawford, for the eARC.