How are we supposed to be good in a fallen world like this one? A big question for a short story, but Anna Tambour tackles it in her contribution to this fine anthology. Her protagonist in 'Hand Out' is a charity worker who encounters history, in the person of an elderly woman who may be a 'bag lady'. History is 'part of a recent invasion you can't ignore.'
What impressed me most about this story is the way the convention of the unreliable narrator is used to convey the truth about a chaotic and morally deranged society. And if that sounds serious, it is. But Tambour's sprightly and warm prose manages to avoid over-preachiness.
Gradually her narrator's proximity to history wears her down, sends her barmy, but she does not lose her essential humanity. And if this is a horror story, it is not one that offers the conventional holiday from morality (to use Angela Carter's term) but reminds us that we are always living in the Gothic.
Another winner, then, and kudos to both the author and editor Timothy J. Jarvis. Check out the book here. NB I received a review copy from publisher Swan River Press.
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