Friday, December 31, 2021

25 Superb Stories Read in 2021

I read 174 short stories in 2021. I'm brutally keeping these yearly lists now to my favourite 25 stories read, which is a real challenge as many wonderful stories aren't listed. I am also very careful about listing works from anthologies I've stories in. 

The couple of Greek folktales listed also privilege a few outdated values, which naturally relate to their context of production. 

As always, the list is about celebrating the stories listed, rather than denigrating any that are not mentioned. 

‘Talking Dog’ by Francine Prose (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from The Peaceable Kingdom: Stories)   

‘The Free Radio’ by Salman Rushdie (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from East, West)


‘Mark of Satan’ by Joyce Carol Oates (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from Antaeus)


‘The Girl Who Left Her Sock on the Floor’ Deborah Eisenberg (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories. Originally published in All Around Atlantis by Deborah Eisenberg)


‘Optimists’ by Richard Ford (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories. From Rock Springs by Richard Ford).   


                                     

‘Willing’ by Lorrie Moore (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from Birds of America)


‘The Lifeguard’ by May Morris (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from The Lifeguard)


‘The Green Man’ by Jeanette Winterson (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from The World and Other Places)


‘The Bone Mother’ by Angela Slatter (The Girl With No Hands and other tales)


‘The Monk’ (Folktales of Greece Ed. Georgios A. Megas)


‘Anthousa the Fair with Golden Hair’ (Folktales of Greece Ed. Georgios A. Megas) 

        

‘Minutes of Glory’ by Ngugi wa Thiong’o ((The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern)


‘Wilderness Tips’ Margaret Atwood (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories)


‘G-String’ Nicola Barker (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories. First published in The Three Button Trick and Other Stories)


‘Portrait of the Avant-Garde’ by Peter Hoeg (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from Tales of the Night)


‘Intimacy’ by Hanif Kureishi (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories. Ed. Daniel Halpern. Originally in The New Yorker)


‘The Farm’ by Joy Williams Prose (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from Taking Care)


‘The Hunt at Rotherdam’ by A.C Wise (Bourbon Penn 24)

                                      

‘Appearing Nightly’ by Gregory Norman Bossert (Bourbon Penn 25


                             

‘The Juniper Tree’ Heart’ by Angela Slatter (The Girl With No Hands and other tales. First published in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #18)
                                                                                             

‘Dresses, Three’ by Angela Slatter (The Girl With No Hands and other tales. First Published in Shimmer Spring 2008)

                                                                                                         

‘Love Songs for the Very Awful’ by Robert Reed (Asimov’s March/April 2018) 

                

‘Escort’ by Abdulrazak Gurnah (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories. First appeared in New Writing Ed. Peter Porter & Christopher Hope)


‘John-Jin’ by Rose Tremain (The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories Ed. Daniel Halpern from Evangelista’s Fan)


'All Lateral' by John Summell (One Story 201)     

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Publishing News:'Anthropophages Anonymous (AA)' in Bourbon Penn 25


New Story: 'Anthrophages Anonymous (AA)' in Bourbon Penn 25

Some stories are written relatively quickly, whereby little changes from the first draft to the final product. Others take an aeon of reflection and fine tuning. "Anthropophages Anonymous" is of the latter kind. It is an ambitious story, which took over four years of rewrites and edits. I recall sending Carol Ryles an earlier version, and this final product bears little to no resemblance at all to that draft. 

There's an old writing exercise where there is a bear at the front door, and you come up with five plot outlines for the story. The lesson is that the most outrageous will be fun but most likely unworkable, and the most tame too mundane and dull. Well, this story is more the outrageous kind –– I'm always up for a masochistic-challenge with my writing. 

For those who have read "Anthropophages Anonymous (AA)' - every syllable is accounted for. 

I was flattered when Stephanie Gunn told me she'd thanked me in her Aurealis Award for Best Novella acceptance speech for the feedback I'd given her. With some stories, due to tight time parameters, you work in isolation, but with others you may have the fortune of discussing them before submitting. So in turn, I'd like to thank my writing group at the time of this story's production, my mates: Marty Young, Pete Kempshall, and Daniel Simpson. Dan, who has has been of great support for many years, told me to persist with it, while Pete and Marty helped me work in a sense of verisimilitude into an outlandish story which has a thread exploring verisimilitude, which isn't easy when you are writing about cultish bear folk going through the 'AA' stages; all set in a bear-folk compound run by a human 'deity'...

I have to thank Erik Secker too. This is the first time I've collaborated on a plot change with an editor (a rewrite of a scene). It was a third of a page, but a major change. Erik was never forceful, but thought it would improve the story. And it truly did. I had something similar in one of the earlier twenty or so drafts, so I was eager to see how it eventuated in this later version. 

Although humorous and a little dark, the story is hopefully also poignant and meaningful. Adrian Van Young, who has helped me with story ordering for a potential collection (a WIP), told me that I was free to paste some of his feedback regarding the story here. Van Young has works published in Granta, The New Yorker, Conjunctions, Black Warrior Review and other places, said the following about the story. Always nice for positive FB on a new story. 

to the somehow altogether plausible plights of the cultish, flesh-addicted Bear people in “Anthropophages Anonymous (AA),” these stories again and again managed to walk that razor’s edge between humorous and horrifying, daring us to laugh at the most uncomfortable moments (often we have no choice!), and forcing us in the process to examine why we’re reacting the way we do; what we’re able to face head-on and what we just can’t.  You set up their work as a hinge that swings between humor and horror, discomfort and amusement....

 

“Anthropophages Anonymous (AA)”:” this was yet another of my favorites, perhaps my favorite along with “Honey Possum” (on which more soon!) and I could also see cause for moving it up earlier in the collection; I think it’s always best to really slam them at the beginning... But, Anthony, really fantastic stuff. This one did a pitch perfect job of integrating the fantastic and the realist on a need-to-know basis, and of showing how a story about the inhuman, or un-human, as it were, is always a stand-in for a story about the human—again, that emotional anchor. And the prose truly sings in this one! You were hitting your stride here on multiple fronts—in terms of genre, tone, stylistics & characterization...Loved it!

Bourbon Penn is a quality production of exceptional stories with a beautiful cover. The stories are meaty and imaginative, often with  a touch of the odd, and are of a literary bend too. It's the type of fiction I am naturally drawn to. 

And I couldn't be prouder of being in the lineup with the other five writers: Allie Kiri Mendelsohn, Gregory Norman Bossert (Winner of the World Fantasy Award & Theodore Sturgeon Award), E. Catherine Tobler (a story finalist for Theodore Sturgeon Award and also a renown editor), Louis Evans (Analog, Interzone), Simon Strantzas (finalist for four Shirley Jackson Awards, two British Fantasy Awards, and The World Fantasy Award). 

The exquisite cover art is by Dan Quintana. 



The Short Story Genre Down Under: Side Note

I love supporting and reading Australian short work, but I find that there's an obsession within the Aussie literary scene for primarily short, tight work. These stories naturally have, and deserve, their place, however, it is also a limiting view of the genre. It's most likely the outcome of having such short word counts in Australian literary journals (most Australian journals max out at 3K), along with the fiction-submission  readers adhering too stringently to creative writing 'rules' taught at a tertiary level. The best readers, writers, and editors have an understanding of the 'rules' but they also know why they can be broken for the betterment of a story. 

American journals often only buy the meatier type of short story. For instance, One Story's minimum cut-off is 3000 words, Bourbon Penn is at 2000 words, Colorado Review 3750, Crazyhorse 2500, Virginia Quarterly Review (VQR) 3500; and even UK's Granta is at 3000. So, I do think we've fallen down the wrong rabbit hole Down Under as it means falsely pigeonholing the short story genre into very short stories and flash fiction, rather than a more representative embracement of the genre's lengthier narrative. 

Current Reads

I've also just finished Bourbon Penn 24 and found all the stories brave and innovative. Although Sam Rebelein, Michael Gardner, Charles Wilkinson, and Chelsea Sutton's works are strong, the story that has especially stayed with me is the haunting-yet-fun tale ‘The Hunt at Rotherdam’ by A.C Wise.



And my book club has just read John Steinbeck's The Winter of Our Discontent. While it's not East of Eden (which for me is the magnum opus of magnum opuses), it is still wonderful. Like the contemporary writer Ian McEwan appears to do with his works, the overarching theme in Steinbeck's The Winter of Our Discontent revolves around a moral dilemma; in this novelSteinbeck explores the trappings of capitalistic temptation and class status.



Reprint News: 'Reading Coffee' 

'Reading Coffee', an Aurealis Award finalist story originally published in Overland Literary Journal 204 (fiction Ed. was Jane Gleeson-White at the time) and republished in The Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene, has found another home a decade on. Spawn of War and Deathiness Ed. Tom Easton is an American anthology of reprint stories.

I always try to keep tabs on anthology buddies, and this time around it's the second home I've shared with American poet Gerard Sarnat (Changing Tides pub. 2020 was the previous home); and I had to laugh when I realised it is the second home shared this month alone with Louis Evans as we also both contributed to Bourbon Penn 25. 

 More news to come. 


Wednesday, January 6, 2021

2020 Reading Review

 Books Read in 2020

 

A Little Hatred Joe Abercrombie

Atonement Ian McEwan

Mythos Stephen Fry (collection/mythology)

Matilda Roald Dahl (children’s novel)

Orange World and Other Stories Karen Russell (collection)

Machines Like Me Ian McEwan

Stone Mattress Margaret Atwood (collection)

Hunger Joyce Carol Oates (novella read in The Female of the Species, originally in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)

The Overstory Richard Powers

Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar Ed. Richard Ford (anthology)

In Sunlight or In Shadow Ed. Lawrence Block (anthology inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper)

Ghost Empire Richard Fidler (history)

The Trouble with Peace Joe Abercrombie

Magic for Beginners Kelly Link (novella read in The Wrong Grave. Originally published in the collection Magic for Beginners)

Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman (collection/ mythology)

Half a King Joe Abercrombie

Tau Zero Poul Anderson

Half the World Joe Abercrombie

The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures Christine Kenneally (Expository)

The Female of the Species Joyce Carol Oates (collection)

Sputnik Sweetheart Haruki Murakami

The Silent Land Graham Joyce

The Wrong Grave Kelly Link (collection)

Bridge Burning & Other Hobbies Kitty Flannagan (memoir/humour)

Kindred Octavia Butler

Ready Player One Ernest Cline

Bagombo Snuff Box Kurt Vonnegut (collection)

Sleep Donation Karen Russell (novella)

The Country of the Blind H.G. Wells (collection)

Welcome to the Monkey House Kurt Vonnegut Jr (collection)

The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2014 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene (anthology)

Changing Tides Ed. Jaynie Royal & Michelle Rosquillo (anthology)

One Hundred Years of Dirt Rick Morton (memoir)

Eidolon 1 Ed. Jonathan Strahan & Jeremy G Byrne (anthology)

He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse Tim Seeley (author) Tom Derenick & Dan Fraga (illustrators) (graphic novel)

Over to You Roald Dahl (collection)

Half a War Joe Abercrombie

488 Rules for Life: The Thankless Art of Being Correct Kitty Flanagan (humour-expository)

Glitter Rose Marianne de Pierres (collection)

Dirty Beasts Roald Dahl (children’s poetry)

Astercote Penelope Lively (children’s novel)

Laughable Loves Milan Kundera (collection)                                                             

 

Highlights with Brief Commentary (Not Reviews)

 

I read more books than I have in a while in 2020, yet only two disappointed, so many that I loved have not received a mention here. I’ve decided to stick to a max. of four favourites in the genre I most consumed, and one to three in the remainder. Brutal, I know.

 

NOVELS

 

Could have easily gone for more here with Joe Abercrombie, and also added Haruki Murakami, Octavia Butler and Graham Joyce – and then the list would continue...

 

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie



I devoured five Abercrombie novels this year. His novels remind me of the thrill I once got when I was 10 through to 14 when I read high fantasy – only Abercrombie, like his fellow grimdark writer, George RR Martin, adds adult elements, and the wit and humour and prose far surpass what I read in my young teens. 

 

A Little Hatred is set a few decades after The First Law trilogy. As usual, Abercrombie cheekily borrows storylines from history, and in A Little Hatred, Abercombie incorporates elements of the Industrial Revolution, and I suspect the French Revolution too. Like always, every scene amuses, every page has you craving more. But this time around, Abercrombie stays away from his deliberate late twists and flips, and the work felt better for it. 

 

In a thematic sense, Abercrombie makes salient points regarding gender (there are more focalised female characters), as well as exploring industrialism and emerging capitalist economics within a largely feudal society.  And as per Abercrombie’s norm, his characters exhibit all of our human frailties, especially that of ambition, guilt, and confused motivations. 

 

Atonement Ian McEwan




As good as the critics claim. I’ve read and enjoyed a lot of McKewan (especially Nutshell) but for me this is the best so far. SPOLIER ALERT It would be a fantastic historical novel without the ending, but the meta elements in the last part make it absolutely superb. 

 

Machines Like Me Ian McEwan



Reading this so close to Atonement revealed distinct thematic similarities: the controversy and the lies surrounding a sexual encounter, the deception of others and self-deception, and the old moral dilemmas that McKewan adores exploring. 


Machines Like Me is an alternative history, a bit like PK Dick’s A Man in the High Castle. This time it’s set in Thatcher’s England. I liked this aspect the most. Most AI I’ve read is set in the future, so the change was especially refreshing. My book club, an astute bunch, believe there are some incongruences and anachronisms within the alternative world, but I enjoyed the ride. The moral ambiguity of AI, the inevitable arguments as to whether AI can possess a soul, whether they can be higher beings than ourselves, and also their potential displacement of humans, are all touched on in an intelligent manner. And rather than paint things in black and white, McKewan offers a more open approach here. As always, his prose is at a standard few writers rival. 

 

The Overstory Richard Powers




To be honest, The Overstory is incredibly vexing at times. The opening series of vignettes in ‘The Roots’ all end with hyperbolic melodrama; the novel’s ending borders on being frustratingly open without the satisfaction of all the threads meeting. But then again, you’ll pensively pause after you've finished the tome in the same manner as a great short story. 

 

So why is it here? Because when Powers is on song, he astonishes: the intelligence, the allusions, the characters and relationships, are all so vividly drawn. And the initial story lines do come together, for the most part, in the middle. ‘The Trunk’ and ‘The Crown’ sections contain some of the most captivating work I’ve read. So despite the frustration, which may also be an integral ingredient in making Powers uniquely brilliant, it’s worth reading for the parts in which Powers simply scintillates. And even within the parts that don't entirely work for me, there is still plenty to admire and reflect on.

 

The Overstory is also a reminder that we are environmental custodians of the world, and how we are failing this stewardship in numerous respects. Powers quite deliberately has written this to drive change, there’s even an analogy within the novel about stories influencing change more than facts (makes sense, look at the tragedy of COVID in the US and the fact that many still blindly believe that Trump has excelled, while the objective facts state the exact opposite). 

 

But I don’t see this imperfect-yet-remarkable work being the catalyst for a new wave of environmental conservationists. The depressing reality is that Power’s ambitious novel most likely only preaches to the already converted, or the believers, like myself. 


While The Overstory won’t be everyone’s cuppa tea (and at times it wasn’t mine) the world benefits from rich, explorative writers like Richard Powers.  


ReadingThe Overstory is an unforgettable experience––as long as you’re willing to take the challenging climb up to the canopy. 

 

CHILDREN'S NOVEL

 

Matilda Roald Dahl



After all these years, I’ve finally read Matilda. Tim Minchin’s musical version of Matilda is also genius, one of the best I’ve seen, so I don’t know how I missed out on reading Matilda until now, especially as Dahl played such a role in my younger reading. Who doesn’t love The Twits, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, Revolting Rhymes, Danny the Champion of the World, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches and The BFG? Won’t say much about Matilda other than I treasured it. Nobody writes children’s fiction like Dahl.

 

COLLECTIONS

 

Orange World and Other Stories Karen Russell



Another superb collection from Karen Russell. I’ve listed recommended stories from Orange World on both my 2019 & recent 2020 beloved story lists. I'm enthralled by Karen Russell’s writing and worlds. Russell courageously blends genre and realist elements, and as such, Russell is my go-to short story writer. 

 

The Stone Mattress Margaret Atwood



I’ve found Atwood’s writing more imbued with humour of late. These stories are fantastic. Many play with genre, often subverting it with meta elements. Funny, witty, and simply fab prose. 

 

The Female of the Species Joyce Carol Oates



I started this years ago, and although I delighted in many of the stories, I’d abandoned it. The return lived up to my expectations. Oates has plenty of fun here with highly suspenseful, playful, dark, and often deliberately melodramatic stories. Once again, I’m a fan. 

 

The Wrong Grave Kelly Link



Exuberant, clever and fun and, unlike Oates’ cold but effective suspense and horror, there’s a wonderful warmth to Link’s stories, even with those which lean to the darker side. I especially enjoyed the title story, and a novella (see the novella highlights). I’ll certainly read more Link. 

 

MYTHOLOGY

 

Two completely different takes on retelling myth here. Gaiman’s beauty is in the parred back simplicity, while Fry’s humour and erudite commentary enhances the tales. Fry has added, while Gaiman has deliberately gone the other direction. 

 

Mythos Stephen Fry


 

Myth retold by the Philhellene. Fry’s passion for the Hellenic world comes through, he even mentions in a footnote in Heroes how he was studying Ancient Greek at eight years of age. Fry supplies a commentary throughout with wry quips, along with playful and informative ways Greek myth relates to the contemporary world.  The early generational God-chronology is always a challenge, and Fry pulls it off as well as anybody, and after that the great narrative tales take hold. The footnotes are well-worth reading. 

 

Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman



Unlike Fry’s mythology, rather than additional commentary, there is little new here. And although I appreciate the criticism that Gaiman has added little to the genre, I actually feel as though it is one of Norse Mythology’s strengths. Via the use of simple rhythmic prose and maintaining a purity to the tales, I think the stories themselves are given the spotlight.  So, if you’re new to Norse mythology or want a gentle return to some great tales, this is a great place. I’ve always loved Norse mythology, and I loved this. Although not as rich or witty as Fry, Gaiman’s strength is that he allows the Norse tales to shine in their own right. 

 

NOVELLAS


Hunger Joyce Carol Oates 


(novella read in The Female of the Species, originally in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

A racy novella that will have you on your toes throughout. 

 

Magic for Beginners Kelly Link


(Read in The Wrong Grave. Originally published inThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) Wonderfully whacky and will take you back to your childhood.

 

Tau Zero Poul Anderson



Old school, compelling hard SF. 

 

ANTHOLOGIES 

(as per the norm, I’m not including works I have stories in)

 

Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar Ed. Richard Ford 


 

I won’t lie, a couple stories were a bit bleh, but I find this in most anthologies, so please hang in there, because this anthology is marvellous. Some of the best works I’ve read. And many I loved weren’t included on my list of favourite yearly reads when they normally would have but (but I felt an icy cut-off had to occur somewhere). Only problem is that Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar will seriously add to your reading list of writers to pursue further. I've already bought ZZ Packer, Edward P. Jones, Elizabeth Strout, Charles D'Ambrosio, and will be hunting down more...

 

In Sunlight or In Shadow Ed. Lawrence Block 

(An anthology inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper)



Such a beautiful idea and production. It impresses in an aesthetic sense with a coloured pic of the Hopper painting before the inspired story, and although (like in Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar) a couple didn’t wow me (and that’s the subjective nature of reading) there’s still plenty to cherish here.         

 

The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2014 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene



Wish these were still around, along with The Best Australian Stories.

 

EXPOSITORY

 

Ghost Empire Richard Fidler

(history)



Like many Greeks, I’m fascinated by Byzantine history, and Fidler frames this within a touching trip to Istanbul/ Constantinople with his son. Yet although Fidler repeats how advanced and civilised the Byzantines were compared to the rest of the world at the time, he ironically focusses on the uncivilised parts: on the shocks, the violence, the regicide, the intrigue, the savagery. I understand this, it helps with narrative drive and the captivation of the reader––and the work is captivating. 

 

There is also a weird mistake, which after I read it lingered around like one of those annoying bedtime mosquitoes. Fidler states that 'Sophia' is a Latin name, and although used in Rome too, the name is Greek– in fact it's iconic to the Greek world. 'Sophia' means wisdom and the Haghia Sophia means Holy Wisdom, or Church of the Holy Wisdom, and has no meaning at all in Latin. But Fidler does confess that unlike most Byzantine historians he doesn’t possess any Greek, so I’m being a bit of a pedantic prick. 


And this is here as a highlight read– Ghost Empire is a thoroughly enjoyable easy-to-read history. The father-son trip tugs poignantly at the heart strings, and the history itself fascinates. Mind you, my mother hated the gore…

 

The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures Christine Kenneally



I’m uncomfortable with the use of the word ‘race' in a contemporary sense unless it's within an historical context or finding fault with racism, both past and present. The notion of race is incredibly outdated. Afterall, you can’t have racism without a belief in ‘race’. But Keneally does contextualise and explore this topic too. I found the first part of Keneally’s work, which concentrates on the history of family trees and tracing lineage, quite tiring, but after that Keneally’s work intrigues. The many historical interludes and new scientific innovations and revelations are absorbing. The subject itself is a juggling act, especially as the dangerous notion of eugenics has returned with DNA and genetic science, and the tragedy is that some of the science gives fuel to toxic supremist groups (who manage to twist the data into their own twisted world views). But Keneally navigates this quagmire better than The Argonauts. For those interested in science and history, it’s well worth the read.                                                         


MEMOIR

 

Bridge Burning & Other Hobbies Kitty Flanagan


 

A fun humorous self-take by a charismatic comedian. Plenty of the old Australian self-deprecating humour too. I’m a Flanagan fan

 

One Hundred Years of Dirt Rick Morton


 

I wasn’t entirely convinced of the structure, but One Hundred Years of Dirt is brave and comical (facetious too at times) while covering dark issues regarding poverty, inequality, masculinity, substance abuse, and homophobia. It also straddles the line of being overly didactic, but it’s worth the read, and having binged on Vonnegut in high school I’m not frightened of a bit of well thought out moralising. Morton’s writing reminds me of another Queensland journalist I enjoy reading: Trent Dalton. It’s loud and playful and entertaining throughout. 


BEST FOR 2021


I keep personal things out of my rarely used blog, but I do hope 2021 is a better year for the world. After a flurry of pressure from medical experts, our Premier Mark McGowan changed his initial rhetoric about 'staying open' and closed the borders by locking down hard and early. He's shown wonderful strength here in Western Australia (WA) as well as a flexible mindset. I realise that not all places are capable of this type of shutdown, but some able nations have been myopic in their desire to keep the economy 'afloat' at all costs, and, ironically, all they have succeeded in doing was sink the economic ship and cause long term economic woe, not to mention the tragic loss of lives, along with the many other lives affected as an outcome.  


Wishing you all a happy, healthy, but also meaningful, 2021!