Review: Inklings by Aparna Warrier

Title: Inklings: Very Short Stories and Other Babies Born of Ink
Author: Aparna Warrier
Publisher: Indie on Smashwords
Publish Date: April 23, 2011
Genre: adult, flash fiction
Pages: 9 (ebook)
Source: From author through Smashwords

Synopsis:
Very short stories and other babies born of Ink.

Stories tagged under urban life, oblique humor, romance, satire and even the purpose of life. In this book, you will find urban-style, simple prose, sprinkled with thought-provoking metaphors along the way.

Inklings offers a glimpse into the world of intelligent flash fiction, which, while not a popular genre in traditional publishing, is making an impact in online literature.

For an idea of what to expect, an introduction of five of the twelve stories in this anthology follows
1. Intoxicated by Impossibility - The story of one guy who can't fall asleep because of one girl who's not even there. Or is she?
2. Who wrote the Rules? - Existential angst clubbed with rebellion against The System.
3. The revolt of the coconut trees - Inspired by an academic study published in the Journal of Trauma, 1984, titled "Injuries due to falling coconuts".
4. So what? - What happens after the Storm.
5. Cheeky - A story about that chubby part of a certain person's face.

From Goodreads

This was the first flash fiction that I’ve read. It was an interesting collection of works. Some of them were cute, others funny, and some I just outright didn’t understand. I’ve never been the kind of reader who analyzes what she’s reading, or enjoys picking things apart to see what kind of double meaning there may be that the author was implying. I just like to read and enjoy. So it’s for that reason, I think, that some of the stories either bored me or just went flying over my head.

There were a couple that I liked. Greenie and Cheeky were both cute. I found The Revolt of Coconut Trees to be funny, too. It’s about coconut trees who are willing to be cooperative with humans until humans start abusing them and taking advantage of them. So they attack and wipe out the human race. I suppose I shouldn’t find it funny, but the thought of coconut trees attacking and wiping out the human race makes me laugh.

Overall, I thought these stories were cute, and a great starting place for a new author. However, I don’t really think they were for me. It was probably just a personality conflict between me and the author, considering she “likes books that make her think deep,” which I totally do not. Still, it’s a quick read (just 9 ebook pages), so check it out on Smashwords if you’re interested.

Thanks to Aparna Warrier for the review copy through Smashwords.