High School Romance

Debut author Hefner alternates from aggressiveness to vulnerable displays of emotion in this striking flash fiction exploration of romantic relationships, often with illicit or taboo dynamics. In “Dog Story,” the narrator claims that in the future, heteronormative relationships will have less primacy than people having sex with dogs. “The Moon Is a Tapestry, a Nightmare” features a narrator whose partner is cheating on him with Elon Musk, prompting him to make self-deprecating comparisons to the space-traveling industrialist (“so you fuck elon on the moon. his brain brought us here and i dont have elons sexual prowess or brain which is now something you know”). Notes of bile inflect much of the stories, followed by absurdist turns (“i start to make a spaceship in the mess hall with paper cups and string,” the Elon-cuckolded narrator continues). The brevity of each piece leaves the reader few opportunities to linger on the uncomfortable situations, which culminate in a sense that Hefner is just scratching the surface. Still, he emerges as a distinctive stylist. Fans of alt-lit will appreciate this. (Aug.)