A Devastating Occasion - Six O'Clock House & Other Strange Tales Book Review

Title: Six O'clock House and Other Strange Tales
Author: Rebecca Cuthbert
Rating: 5/5

It's hard to talk about books I like. The urge to say, "It was great, you should read it!" and leave it at that is strong. But I won't. I'll say more, even if it all amounts to the same thing. This is a collection of sixteen stories that range from dark comedy to dark fairy tales and urban legends. With every story that brings you down with heartache, there's another one to lift you up with hope or humor.

This is the part where I would normally put a quick summary of the plot, but this is a collection. So, you're just going to have to feel the vibes while I talk about the cover instead. I believe the artist is, if I'm reading the acknowledgements correctly, is Susan Roddey. I love it. The lush greenhouse that drips like honey feels the same as the stories inside. Like it's all technicolor and thick. Like a humid forest that smells of wet earth and moss that makes you want to lay down and let the fungi and flowers grow over you.

"If you think about it, everyone you know used to be someone you didn't know, until you got to know them, you know?"
– Rebecca Cuthbert, Hey, Stranger

I want to spend more time with (almost) every main character in these stories. (Almost) Every single one feels like someone that could be a friend. I want them to get a happy ending. Some of them get it. Some of them, thank Hades, do not. Some of them break your heart so dandelions can grow in the cracks.

It's difficult to pick a favorite story. The radical self love of Infested is a good contender. Funeral Hats is exactly my brand of humor. The sweetness of Inheritance and A Bargain at Twice the Price is hard to pass up. Rest for the Wicked is a, well, wicked slow reveal. But the title story, Six O'Clock House, is the kind of story that I'm still thinking about, more than a week after reading it. I know it's the kind of story that is going to stay with me. It's the kind of story that digs into your heart like a rabbit– warm and breathing with me.

"The Six O'Clock House is my favorite of the greenhouses, too... Inside, it feels kind of like a chapel, or maybe a cemetery. Private and peaceful and a little sacred, like nothing can touch me. And everything planted there grows."
– Rebecca Cuthbert, Six O'Clock House

I hope you read this. I hope you find the same kind of bittersweet comfort I did in these pages.

If you liked this review and want to give the book a try, here's my affiliate link to get it from Bookshop.org!