#Titanuary ‘Bad Dolls’ by Rachel Harrison

About the book…

In this stunning new collection of four horror stories, award-winning author Rachel Harrison explores themes of body image, complicated female friendship, heartbreak, and hauntings.

In “Reply Hazy, Try Again,” an indecisive young woman finds a mysterious Magic 8 Ball that might just have the answers she’s been looking for…or might lead her down a path of self-destruction.

In “Bachelorette,” a bridesmaid attends her childhood best friend’s bachelorette weekend, only to discover the itinerary may demand more than she’s willing to sacrifice.

In “Goblin,” an unusually brutal dieting app wreaks havoc on the life of an insecure woman preparing to attend her ex’s wedding.

In “Bad Dolls,” after a death in the family, a wayward young woman comes into possession of a strange porcelain doll that could offer a connection to her lost sister.

These dark tales navigate the complexities of modern life with humor, insight, and the occasional blood sacrifice…

Would it even be a celebration of all things Titan without a Rachel Harrison title in the mix?

Exactly, glad you agree, ‘Bad Dolls’ was published in September, and to my mind, showcases the very best of Rachel’s writing .

In each of this dark quartet of tales, 4 first person women narrators find themselves rebelling against the position in which they are trying to be forced into, in society’s dollhouse.

A flea market is the setting of an opportune connection for Jordan, a woman notorious for her indecisive nature,afforded a helping hand by  a Magic 8 ball.

For those who have never heard of, or ever owned one, they are ‘fortune tellers’ which provide answers to questions that could lead to resolutions of problems. The way it fits into her hand and finds her, creates a situation where she begins asking bigger and bigger questions of both the ball, and herself as she analyses a deeply unsatisfying and unspectacular life. And takes big swings at her impending future.

Bachelorette is so dark and funny, it was reminiscent of The Return, where a reluctant bridesmaid , holding on to the ghost of a close friendship, finds she is about to make her biggest sacrifice yet. Literally. Nat finds herself playing along with the most godawful hen weekend imaginable where every activity is designed to give you first, second and third hand embarrassment. The denouement is perfectly delicious as the non-conformist Nat who has always been the fiery side of her best-friendship with Hailey, re-rights herself.

Goblin is a play on words, where 2 friends spur each other on to start making themselves wedding presentable, by downloading a popular app to inhibit their frequent forays into comfort zones. In order to attend her ex-boyfriend, Ben’s wedding to a mutual acquaintance, Meg wants to look her absolute best and show him what he could have won. The price for this supplemental support to her shady self control, however, may be one she might want to rethink. And maybe, Ben is the one who is massively losing out and Meg has had a narrow escape…

The final story really resonated (not that the others didn’t, I think it was because of the subject matter) and to my mind, made me think of Stephen King’s ‘The Last Rung On The Ladder’

It is very powerful, and moving, as Mackenzie finds herself back in her childhood home after a tragic death brings her to a place she thought she had left behind. Her family connections, ex boyfriends and assorted ghosts rear their heads but none so remarkable as the doll which randomly appears in Mac’s life. And refuses to go…

There may be a fifth ‘bad doll’, I may be imagining it, but a woman with a septum piercing pops up, ever so slightly, in each tale, unamed, but nonetheless very much there.

The narrator/observer/catalyst of these events where objects and ceremony which should be some of the peak moments of womanhood-waiting for a proposal, the lengths you go to for your best friend, meeting society’s expectation of a woman’s appearance and being a good big sister-might be represented by this unknown woman, or it could be me reading too much into it, but it was a detail I enjoyed.

The bucking of what is expected of you as a woman in modern society-basically one who does what is demanded without question-makes me supremely happy to be a Bad Doll.

Rachel does more in a story than some could do in a 1,000 page novel, she builds tension, character driven plots and infuses them with this wry humour that I absolutely adore. Superb!

About the author…

Rachel Harrison is the author of ‘The Return’, nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica and Electric Lit.

She lives in New York with her husband and their cat/overlord.

Twitter @rachfacelogic @TitanBooks

Links-https://www.rachel-harrison.com/