Human Beings

Rachael Llewellyn delivers a collection of short stories that delve into the core of our existence. What makes us human? Is it the nice things that we know about or is it our other side, our dark and twisted side, as well? Nonetheless, as much as some people try to hide it, in the end, it’s part of who we are and sometimes it consumes and becomes us.

A childhood friendship gone twisted. An old neighbour who isn’t as innocent as he seems. The occupational hazards of working the nightshift. An emotionally powerful story about domestic violence. A guy with a tragic history with women takes matters into his own hands. A story about a fragile boy who wants to put an end to his life. A step-sister with a sinister sense of humor. A plastic surgeon who is obsessed with his wife. An employee who has had enough. A tale of two abused sisters. A New Year’s Eve family story. The Beast and the Woman. A father’s occupation like no other.

My personal favorites are Nightshift, Crocodile Tears, There’s Something Wrong with Rosa, Sleeplessly Sleepwalking, Monochrome Dancers, and Thirteen.

The short stories are masterfully written. Their structure allows readers to put themselves in the shoes of the protagonists and experience every individual story as it was their own lives. The length of the stories is another plus because it provides just the right amount of words and time needed to create a complete story from start to finish. That way, it is more reader-friendly because every story can be read in a matter of minutes, thus it is not tiring for the reader.

The protagonists are everyday people. They could be people we barely know like our neighbor or our coworker or even people close to us, our families, and sometimes we ourselves might be the bad, evil guy in the story.

Personally, the endings were the best part of this collection. They were either “clean” endings where the reader knows that the story is over but they were also the “never” endings where the story seems to be over but the cliffhanger makes the reader fantasize about what happens next.

Some of the stories are pure horror, with a supernatural element but there are a couple of stories that could be a hundred percent real. They deal with sensitive issues like domestic violence, rape, depression, and suicide and that is exactly what makes them authentic.

Human Beings consists of thirteen thrillingly horrifying stories that will either give you the creeps or make you wonder how fragile humans are.