Review: 'From the Neck Up and Other Stories' by Aliya Whiteley

I adore Aliya Whiteley's writing. I have loved her novellas and novels so far, so when I saw the chance to read more of her short fiction I, naturally, jumped at it. From the Neck Up collects previously published stories into a single volume for the first time and I loved seeing how strongly the themes of her writing come through in each of them. Thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 9/14/2021
Publisher: Titan Books

The new collection of beautiful, strange and disarming short stories from the award-winning author of The Beauty, Clarke Award nominee The Loosening Skin and The Arrival of Missives, Aliya Whiteley. In 16 stories Whiteley deftly unpeels the strangeness of everyday life through beguiling gardens, rebellious bodies and journeys across familiar worlds, with her trademark wit and compassion. 
 
Witness the future of farming in a new Ice Age, or the artist bringing life to glass; the many-eyed monsters we carry and the secret cities inside our bodies; the alien invasion through our language to the Chantress and her twists on the fairy tale. Fascinating and always unexpected, Whiteley is unlike any other writer working today.

In From the Neck Up Aliya Whiteley gently but precisely analyzes and dissects some of our own worst fears. While I would describe these stories as purely Horror, there is a definitely unease and 'shiver down the spine'-feeling to each of them. After From the Neck Up your skin will itch, you'll look over your shoulder, you'll stumble over your words, you'll double check yourself for scars. Looming large in each story is nature, the way it is suffering, the way it is in decline, the way it reconquers, the way it thrives even on ruins and bones. In each of these stories you can recognize yourself and your own world, and yet there is a distance, a difference that makes certain ideas and thoughts stand out more sharply. But there are phrases in these stories, moments, that have utterly stuck with me. They defined a feeling I have, or a realization that came to me, in a way no other author has been able to. Below are two of my favourites:

'Why should I be falling apart, a little more every day, at the age of twenty-seven?' - 'Reflection, Refraction, Dispersion'

or

'But did she really want to be marked in such a way? Impregnated, forever, by this one event?' - 'The Spoils'

What I found really fascinating was that many of From the Neck Up's stories feature old, female protagonists. Thankfully these days we have many novels in many genres which feature female main characters. But we're still largely focusing on teenage/new adult protagonists. In From the Neck Up we get to encounter characters who have lived a full life, have loved and lost, have regained and lost again. This works brilliantly with the speculative nature of the stories and I also just found it a pleasure to read from a new perspective. A great example of this is the first story 'Brushwork', which is the longest and split into chapters. It tells the story of an old woman who works on a farm in a new Ice Age, looking after water melons. Through her eyes we don't just see what the world has become, but also how it got there. Another favourite was 'Into Glass', in which love creates art. It was a stunning take on our need to see we're loved, to quantify the love people have for us, but also the sacrifices we're willing to make. 'Chantress' is a fascinating tale that plays with fairy tale themes, our desire for messages and advice, and our need for a destiny. 'Three Love Letters from an Unrepeatable Garden' is, as the title implies, told through three letters which spin a fascinating tale of love, desire, and knowing oneself. 'Corwick Grows' was a riot of body horror and it was beautiful. 'The Spoils', a strong contender for my absolute favourite', can hardly be described without spoiling it but features subterranean communities and having to be careful what you wish for. 

The difficult thing with collections is that not every story hits the spot equally at once. There were some stories in From the Neck Up which really gripped me straightaway, while others were good but not for me right now. The upside to this is that I know that when I reread From the Neck Up I will gain new insights from it each time. What I can say is that Aliya Whiteley knows how to write a great story, to create a scene that grabs you by the throat, to find the humanity in meta-discussions of climate change. All of the stories are connected by her interest in humanity and nature, the push and pull between the two, the way the former denies the latter only to fall victim to it regardless. What From the Neck Up also shows is the sheer variety of modes in which Whiteley can write. 

I give this collection...

4 Universes!

Aliya Whiteley crafts beautiful and detailed stories, stories that will stay with you for a long time. While not every story in From the Neck Up may connect with all readers equally, some will hit their mark and change you.