Dinosaurs on Other Planets
Danielle McLaughlin
The Stinging Fly Press
Danielle McLaughlin’s first collection of works, sees motherhood driving some of the stories – ‘The Art of Foot-Binding’; ‘Silhouette’ – and haunting the rest of them – see ‘Night of the Silver Fox’. The topic deserves an essay in itself. While rarely mentioned explicitly, the economic recession is another theme hinted at throughout. It’s an effective subtext whose scattered references work to shape the literary and physical landscapes in the collection. One standout piece, ‘In the Act of Falling’, describes a family who will soon be ‘back on their feet’ – it will just take three years of the father living and working in Dubai. The female protagonist envies, rather than pities, this predicament. Things are that bleak.
These stories are often melancholic, even dark, but on occasion, Dinosaurs on Other Planets surpasses such moods to create atmospheres of genuine terror. This requires an intricacy and intensity of narrative that only emerges as the reader progresses through the collection. Indeed, the final three stories, which are some of the lengthiest and richest, ensure that this energy does not peak too early. Elusive endings may be amongst the only features that sit uncomfortably with some readers, but rather than disappoint, these should instead underline the degree to which the preceding material is soaked with significance. Equilibrium does not exist here.
Words: Peter Morgan
