Internet dating and the end of the world. Failed relationships and a morning after pill for marriage. Alcoholism and an elf's head mug. These are just a few of the many strange combinations to be found in "Unrequited and Other Stories," the first collection of short stories by Kyle Garret.
Each of these three stories is different; each exhibits a range in storytelling style and genre, yet each contains a shared sense of longing, a shared pursuit for something good when things are at their worst. There's pessimistic defiance in these stories, a panglossian refusal to let the breakdown have the last word.
Sometimes bleak, occasionally chaotic, but always affecting, this collection features a little something for everyone, from romance to horror to dark comedy.
In the end, "Unrequited and Other Stories" is about what we make with what we're given.