The many what-ifs of love & destiny

Januaries is a short story collection that feels like an intricate puzzle of human emotion, fantastical worlds, and thought-provoking themes. With each tale, author Olivie Blake crafts a vivid experience that dances between the familiar and the outlandish, inviting readers to pause, reflect, and revel in her words. From wistful fairytales to multiverse musings, the collection is an unrestrained exploration of storytelling at its most inventive.

Blake divides Januaries into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, with each offering a fresh lens on the human condition through a supernatural or speculative core. While each story stands on its own, the collection forms a kaleidoscopic view of love, loss, and longing, interspersed with humour, horror, and a touch of the absurd. Blake’s ability to shift tone, genre, and form is nothing short of remarkable, making Januaries a literary treasure trove.

Emotional resonance

One of the collection’s standout features is its ability to evoke distinct moods with each piece. The opening story, Spring’s The Wish Bridge, sets the tone with its whimsical yet melancholic tale of an other-worldly spirit suffering from burnout. Blake masterfully juxtaposes the fantastical concept of a travelling bridge and its wish-granting keeper with the all-too-human exploration of duty and self-worth, grounding readers in an emotional resonance that permeates the entire collection.

From there on, each story unfolds to reveal its own iridescence. Summer starts wickedly with The Animation Games, which takes on a twisted perspective about ‘till death do us part’, weaving a darkly humourous tale of obsession, revenge and love. Autumn’s Sous Vide blends satire and heartache in a tale of culinary magic, while Winter’s Chaos Theory delves into the multiverse with a deeply personal edge, leaving readers to grapple with the what-ifs of love and destiny.

Blake’s writing has always been characterised by its lush, almost hypnotic quality, and Januaries is no exception. Every sentence feels carefully calibrated, brimming with ornate, lyrical flourishes that sweep you into the heart of each story. However, what truly sets this collection apart is its fearless experimentation with narrative style and structure. Blake dabbles in poetry, fairy-tale retellings, contemporary heists, and even a poignant essay on marriage, creating a multifaceted reading experience where every story is different and unexpected. The collection’s diversity in form mirrors its thematic breadth. The stories do not stay within the boundaries of a single genre. Some stories lean into humour, others heartbreak; some revel in the preposterous, while others feel like quiet, contemplative meditations on life’s fragility. This variety ensures there’s something here for everyone, and while certain stories might resonate more deeply with individual readers, the overall collection feels cohesive in its exploration of human emotion through fantasy.

Universal themes

At its core, Januaries is a deeply passionate collection. Blake deftly examines universal themes of love, betrayal, longing, and self-discovery through the lens of the extraordinary. The stories feel timeless, yet distinctly modern, as they grapple with mortal issues. In To Make a Man, for example, where a Victorian orphan gains literacy to navigate an occult situationship, the story on the surface appears to be an engaging tale of supernatural intrigue but is really a moving exploration of agency, autonomy, and power. Similarly, The Audit, uses its seemingly absurd premise to comment on the fragility of human connections and the ways in which we measure our worth.

Januaries offers its readers escapism. Each story offers a brief reprieve from the mundane, transporting you to places where magic is real, time can bend, and even heartbreak carries a glimmer of wonder. And yet, Blake never lets readers forget the humanity at the heart of her tales.

The emotions are raw, the characters complex, and the resolutions often bittersweet. Januaries is a stunning testament to Olivie Blake’s versatility and creativity. It’s rare to find a collection that balances such a wide range of tones and genres while maintaining a consistent emotional core, but Blake achieves it with apparent ease. Whether you’re a fan of fairytales, speculative fiction, or simply great storytelling, this book has something to offer.

Reading Januaries feels like opening a box of treasures, each story a gem that shines in its own way. Some will make you laugh, others will make you cry, and a few will leave you oddly unfocused, contemplating the meaning of life. Blake’s words have a way of staying with you, long after you’ve turned the last page.

For fans of Blake’s previous works or for anyone seeking a collection that enchants and surprises, Januaries is an absolute must-read. It’s uncanny in the way it represents the real through the surreal, it’s beautiful in its representation of human emotions, and above all, it’s unforgettable.