Remember Why You Fear Me: The Best Dark Fiction of Robert Shearman

In the 21 offbeat fantasies gathered for Shearman’s third collection (after Tiny Deaths and Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical), characters endure a variety of bizarre experiences that nevertheless crystallize the emotions at the core of each story. In “Pang,” lovers physically give their hearts to one another. Trysting lovers in “Roadkill” injure a mutant creature with their car and soon feel unusually strong emotions about it: nurturing it when their extramarital affair is going well, and grasping for ownership of it when they fall out. In “So Proud,” a selfish husband is angered by his wife’s pregnancy until she begins giving birth to home accessories that he sells to augment their income. No matter how preposterous their premises, these tales abound with credibly drawn interpersonal relationships, rendered with humor and poignancy. (Nov.)