As someone who works in publishing, there’s one thing I can say with confidence: short story collections just aren’t my thing. There’s a good reason I never review them, and it’s because even the best of the best (Her Body and Other Parties, for example) fall flat for me. Not to pound this point home—but I will, because I swear it’s relevant—I can count on exactly one finger the amount of short story collections I’ve ever really liked. Something about reading one unconnected story after another seems dull to me; I love a good short story in a lit mag or to study, but all in succession? Not my proverbial cup of tea.
So why would I choose to review Alla Gorbunova’s (Th)ings and (Th)oughts, none other than a story collection? Great question. The honest answer is that I really do not know, but if I was to venture a guess, I’d say that the cover reminded me of Fantastic Mr. Fox and I was feeling the fall vibes. But I’ll tell you what—thank god I randomly chose this book—it was nothing short of astounding.
The best way I can describe this work is to call it an outlandish, gorgeous, deeply intelligent spin on how we view the world, and specifically, how we view our own existence. The stories, divided unevenly into five parts, are primarily flash, taking up no more than two pages at most.
This means, from a craft perspective, that there is a necessary conciseness that is difficult to achieve. Luckily, Gorbunova’s praise is a masterclass in opening sentences. The amount of storytelling, narrative setup that is done in just the first sentence of each story is magnificent; the hook truly could not be set any deeper. Each story is an indepth, microcosmic character study that investigates the whims and intricate details of one deeply human character. I think writers who long to grow and understand how flash is meant to work should be picking up this book as fast as they can.
Another charm of these stories are the work they do around traditional folktales. There is a pervasive element of the mystical and magical within these pages. Although I’m not familiar with Russian folklore specifically, one doesn’t need to be to understand the work the Gorbunova is doing, investigating the roles of heaven and hell, and how we find ourselves in between them. Much of the meditations found in these pages don’t offer answers, only stories that seem to challenge our immediate answers to these difficult questions: is there such a thing as a good or bad person? How do we make the harsh fact of death easier to swallow? Is there an explainable, tangible reason for people’s actions, or is trying to explain everything an inherently human flaw? Each mini story is an investigation into these questions, with a whimsical and roundabout fashioned path to the answer.
One of my favorite parts of the work is the third section, entitled “The Trials of Ivan Petrovich.” Within this section, it separates itself from the other stories by being connected stories following one Ivan Petrovich as he relives his worst moments in life in an afterlife state, only to continue to make the wrong choices again and again. Despite being undoubtedly insufferable for many of the stories, I realized I liked Ivan, if only because he seemed irrevocably human in his shortcomings: he knows what they are, yet still succumbs to them in crucial moments, as we all do at times. Gorbunova has a way of packaging these faults and selling them beautifully.I left this story collection feeling as though I need to reevaluate how I view collections—one of the primary reasons I think I fell in love with this book is due to its nature of being a translated work, something that brings a new culture’s spin on traditional themes, something that plays with form and storytelling in new and innovative ways. When I finished (Th)ings and (Th)oughts, I immediately put a hold on Gorbunova’s other translated works, in the hopes that I had just discovered a new favorite writer (and I think I’ll be right). No matter your view on short stories, I’m here to tell you to give this one a go; Gorbunova does not disappoint.
FICTION
(Th)ings and (Th)oughts
By Alla Gorbunova
Deep Vellum Publishing
Published November 4, 2025
