Mostly too abstract for me.

I received "Darker With The LIghts On: Stories" as part of the recent 2017 Republic of Consciousness Prize donation perk where one of the donation levels provided a copy of each of the final 6 books that made the shortlist. "Darker..." was the last to arrive as its original hardcover edition was already out of print at the time the Shortlist was announced and the perk had to await its paperback publication.

Most of the 20 stories in "Darker..." were too abstract for me to follow but I did diligently read through each one of them looking for strands of plot and for something to grasp onto. Many of the stories read like dreams and nightmares as characters talk and act like no one in real life in landscapes that are unreal. There was little humour to be had unless you find absurd situations to be humorous. For instance there was some humour by association in the story "Dick" where the titular character is "buried up to his belly on a cold shingle beach," paralleling Winnie in Beckett's "Happy Days". Overall my favourite stories (which also had the most clear plots) came towards the latter half of the book esp. "Reading" (which I did think was extra clever) and "How to Read a Picture Book" (the latter maybe again by association because I'm a fan of the Canadian "Scaredy Squirrel" picture book series; mild spoiler: the short story also has a squirrel character).

There is no question that the writer David Hayden is an original talent. It is simply that the style won't appeal to everyone. But try the "Reading" story if you get a chance and if you enjoy it as much as I did then give the rest a try at least.

My thanks to the Republic of Consciousness Prize and to publisher Little Island Press for my copy of this book. ( )