death is not an option by Suzanne Rivecca

This is a compilation of short stories about young women who are very sad, lonely, confused and a bit weird. The stories are well written and the book was chosen for the Young Lions Fiction Award. The first short story “death is not an option” is an interesting game where you are given some horrible choices but you cannot answer with “I would die”, you have to choose the lesser of two evils.

The main characters’ voice in every story sounded the same; it felt like one drawn out unconnected story. It sounded like the same person over and over again.

The author’s style is very honest and open as she touches on some very disturbing issues.

The book just gave me a feeling of dread and despair.