Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories by K
What's It About?
“Anyone interested in the struggle against stifling societal powers and the potency of love will see some of themselves in these pages. By turns exciting, meditative, and funny, these enjoyable, thought-provoking stories will linger long after the book is closed. ‘The author has a gift for storytelling, and this shines through.’” —BookTribThe first three short stories in Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories (FriesenPress), bounce wildly from Jerusalem to a present-day Canadian shopping mall to a dystopian future.
“Radius” depicts the inner thoughts of a Palestinian en route to a suicide bombing. “Calamity Jane” is largely a teenage angst-laden conversation between two boys in love with the title character. “Automatonomatopoeia” is a futuristic nightmare; the owner of a malfunctioning AI robot discovers there is no easy fix.
Written by a Canadian of Pakistani descent who uses the pseudonym “K,” the nine stories that follow are equally eclectic, but almost half of the collection could fall somewhere into the science fiction genre. “With sci-fi, you can attack many issues and do some strong worldbuilding,” says K.
K also uses the pronoun “they” for more anonymity and the freedom anonymity confers. “Other than a few very close friends, no others have any idea that I write,” they say. K did most of their writing on a commuter train, often beginning with just a faint idea. Their favorite authors are Chekhov, Alice Munro and Kafka; and as for sci-fi, “I would pretty much read anything,” K says.
A COLLECTION OF STORIES PAINTED FROM A WIDE PALETTE OF INSPIRATION
Other stories in this collection include “Orpheus and Eurydice,” a retelling of the Greek legend. “The Hand” recounts a futuristic world where citizens work in prison-like cubicles and collect photos of other citizens to adorn their walls, but never attain intimacy. In “The Conversation,” a woman who has been blind since birth gets a daily telephone call from her mother; or thinks she does. “The Garden” is an allegory about tending to both the soil and community.
Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories has already received positive reviews from half a dozen book review publications. Chanticleer Reviews calls it “A collection of twelve short stories about the many forms of love. A perfect summer read we highly recommend.”
The epigraph of this collection is “Love is the most revolutionary of all acts.” K says, “History is this living thing, and it’s always involving us humans. Due to the pandemic, people are reflecting on things and appreciating what a little kindness can do.”
K’s official site states they write “for artists and lovers; for those feeling alone and gripped by sadness. This site is a form of resistance against the forces both within and without that keep us away from our true, angelic nature.” And with the help of anonymity, K succeeds in breaking free of the confining forces of everyday life to share an inner one that’s as rich and varied as it is imaginative.
