Milk Blood Heat, Dantiel W. Moniz
“I sat among them, enraptured by their stories, realizing for the first time that every one of us was a link stretching back, mother to daughter to mother, in an unbroken chain from the centre of time, connected by milk and blood.”
For far too long I had fallen out of love with short story collections, so when I decided to give this one a read, it felt as if it were a first date, and I had butterflies in my stomach.
I was left wondering whether the collection would live up to my expectations, only to have Moniz cast a magic spell over her readers, and I came to the realisation that this collection is everything I had hoped it would be and so much more.
These stories encompass what it is to grow up black in Florida. Each character seems to lead an ordinary life, yet they are all facing a hardship they are trying to make sense of. Moniz examines a multitude of themes, such as miscarriage, grief, friendship, sexual abuse, race, complex mother/daughter relationships, and breakdowns of marriages. Despite dealing with heavy topics, I did not find them sorrowful or lacking, even though Moniz doesn’t provide tidy endings. Instead, it felt as though it was left to the reader to interpret where these characters’ stories may go.
There are no words that will truly do this debut justice; Moniz has brought to life writing that forces you to pause and reflect. The writing is sublime, gut wrenching, visceral, and vivid – you will be left in awe that an author could evoke such emotion with so few carefully placed words.
This is your call to action. If you are intimidated by story collections, you have to give this one a chance. Moniz will stun you with her words and this book will linger in your heart and mind for years to come.
Review of Book Blogger’s Prize Winner 2022
Gabriela Townes, Book Blogger’s Prize Winner
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