As expected there were mixed feelings on these short stories. Some gave me inspiration to dig up my old notes and start up my short story writing again, but others, I am sorry to say, left me cold. So forgive me if I don’t manage to review each short story in turn. Saying this, Matthew McFarland should be praised for his hard work and originality and I will endeavour to give a true reflection on how his works make me feel.



The Burning Bar has an altogether amusing ending as it reveals the true pu

As expected there were mixed feelings on these short stories. Some gave me inspiration to dig up my old notes and start up my short story writing again, but others, I am sorry to say, left me cold. So forgive me if I don’t manage to review each short story in turn. Saying this, Matthew McFarland should be praised for his hard work and originality and I will endeavour to give a true reflection on how his works make me feel.



The Burning Bar has an altogether amusing ending as it reveals the true pub owner’s priorities in a life or death situation. It allows me to question what I would save if the same thing happened to me. Would I be selfish enough to choose my cosmetic kit over my pet cat for example?

I love the personification of the fire and it added to my joy when I was unprepared for the ending. It is very refreshing to read a short-short story which I define as something you can read in one sitting or before you go to sleep. The atmosphere was definitely building

I am a strong believer annoying as this sounds to some readers of leaving multiple questions behind and although it do this in some degree, it didn't keep me awake at night thinking about it. It could have been shorter in my opinion as it involved word content that didn't need to be there.



With Defenestration I only researched the title name after I read it which was the right choice as it would have spoilt it for me.

There is definitely a sense of place with the obvious mention of Belfast unlike the short story before.

First person is always the best point of view to choose as it is more immediate and allows the personal views to hit home with the reader. The inner thoughts in this case are very rhetorical and one dimensional.

It is cleverly written in such a way that you can't tell whether the main character is male of female but when i got to the end I surmised that it didn't really matter.

Very disjointed, hard to keep track of where he/she is and where this is heading. I had to kept reading back to see if I missed something. Are we as the reader being taught a valuable lesson? Sometimes "random" works for people.

The first sentence is simply too long. There is a clue in the name, short stories should be short. And. punchy. I have spent years trying to perfect this in my own writing and I can honestly tell you it reads far batter.

The inner monologue brings up some of the most fundamental questions of life and it is amazing how thought processes can stem from another. There are distinct elements of that happening here.



Wee Tiny Spiders is a great analysis of someone’s inner thoughts. For me this is all about the borderlines of insanity and its limitations. The story line shouldn't be read in the literal sense. The spiders may just be a metaphor for the general annoyances of life and the niggling feeling that nothing can be done about it but I think the former explanation is far more exciting.

It is uplifting to read a story that so many interpretations can be drawn from it. I discussed this with my friend at great length over this. A great story like this definitely made my skin crawl.



Christmas with the kids was a light-hearted read and a nice change from some of the darker story lines in McFarland’s collection. If you are not used to children (I'm quite sure this puts the main character into this category) it is every person’s nightmare to look after other people’s kids. I'm sure everyone will be in this situation at some point. This actually made me chuckle at times.

The unlucky person who was landed with the babysitter job describes these children as predatory, remaining calm on the surface t=so they don’t sense any fear.

Altogether very light-hearted and gets you in the Christmas spirit!



What have you done is a great opening title for a short story. The rhetorical question is almost directed at you and it gives great pulling power to see what the content serves us

This story is shrouded in mystery throughout throwing in some great imagery. Amongst the scenes of destruction I am surprised to see that the main character and his family still able to live a somewhat normal life.

Very political - talking about their time of the unrest in Ireland?



The Bicycle is a symbol for his life as it stays with him throughout. Every human cherishes something and it is nice to see here that the boy who grew into a man has not let go of his past and has kept it with him even when he is a father. This is well written and has a purposeful message.



I LOVE GORE. The Seventeenth door was so gripping, the most action packed by far compared to the other short stories. I particularly liked the mild brutality from the writer when we read the description of Charlotte – very honest and laced with humour.

You hear about cannibalism in the news but it is a very interesting to have unsuspecting old ladies revealed as the perpetrators, although very unlikely in reality.

My only complaint is that it is too short but I did like how it finished on a teaser.



Fifty/fifty is by far the most emotive storyline written by McFarland. This dredges up a lot of debates on the subject of suicide.

The cases described are all different and show different types of reactions to the main subject matter.

I was particularly attached to the case with the pregnant girl who felt like there was no other choice but to end her life. It shows that in the closer stages of death, life shines through and it shows here as once the girl realises she is in real danger, the danger she is not in control of she fights for her life and for her baby’s.

The title choice is perfect as it sums up life in general because life is all about probability depending on the choices you make.

