Review of Breath of Life by LH Moore
LH Moore’s Breath of Life (Apex Book Company, 2024) is a gorgeous collection of Black-centered stories and poetry, with a substantial amount of horror and historical fiction, often in the same story!
Most of my favorite stories were, of course, the historical ones. “A Little Not Music,” set in 1939 in Washington, D.C., is a dark story, but the main character and her housemates are eminently relatable as women of their era dealing with their own issues and the problems that the story brings them. “Empty Vessel,” set in 1821 in St. Francisville, Louisiana, follows an enslaved woman as she navigates her life and a pervasive desire to stay out of the fields. Though the outcome of this story involves substantial tragedy, the voice of the main character is a powerful force that drives the story along, as she indirectly dares you to never look away from the awful things. Finally, “Here, Kitty,” a modern story, telegraphed a bit of the ending, but again, it was impossible to set it aside because of the characters–here, the secondary character really shone for me!
Even in the stories not mentioned above, the characters are universally compelling, feeling familiar even if you’ve never met someone quite like them. It is worth noting that the stories do not include any content warnings, and nearly all of them deal with dark themes including death, multiple forms of abuse, and mental health issues. Although a few of the stories feature younger protagonists or characters, I would recommend this book as better for adult readers.
Breath of Life comes out next week on December 17, but you can pre-order it in advance of the release!
The publisher provided me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for review consideration.
Like my book reviews? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter to get a recap of what I’ve read and reviewed each month!
Comments