Unfinished Creatures - by Tom Stahl (Paperback)

About the Book

Unfinished Creatures is a short story collection about grief, survival, faith, and resilience. Darkly humorous and emotionally real, it follows ordinary people facing loss, struggle, and moments of grace.

Book Synopsis

Unfinished Creatures

We are all unfinished creatures, only half made up, searching for the other half to make us whole.

With dark comedy, mythic undertones, and shocking violence, twelve short stories shimmer with longing, loss, and redemption. They ask the questions we all face: How do we survive what tries to break us with grief? Can we forgive the unforgivable? Where does faith hide in a fractured world?

A boy struggles to save his family from a violent father. A lost girl steals Jesus from a creche, and a grieving man loses his belief. A farm boy takes flight in a carnival of dreams turned nightmare. A lonely woman crashes a Christmas party, hoping to find love. Haunted by ghosts, a detective must learn to see people as they truly are. A son, his mother, and her porkchop-stealing Maltese chase family reconciliation throughout an all-you-can-eat buffet. A couple tries to save their crumbling marriage in Greece. These stories and more confront the horrors of life and the psychological terrors that lurk in the shadows of ourselves while exploring the resilience of the human spirit.

Perfect for readers who want to laugh through their tears while balancing the surreal and the sacred, the tragic and the satirical, the absurd and the grotesque.

By the end, you'll find yourself believing in second chances, in the power of love, and maybe even in miracles.

Review Quotes

Advanced Praise for Unfinished Creatures

"Transcendent elements animate a dozen divergent stories... There is a consistent tone that links brutal darkness, tenderness, and humor... Each story emerges with affecting humanity. A collection in which any reader will find plenty to enjoy. The influence of classic American short storytellers can be detected from the likes of Flannery O'Connor, Sherwood Anderson, Raymond Carver, and even a nod to Shirley Jackson."

-Peter Hassebroek, Independent Book Review

"A riveting anthology filled with emotional webs... poetic prose and profoundly memorable characters... At times it makes us cry, and at other moments it caresses the core, creating heartfelt smiles. A compelling literary voice that transports us to unforgettable places."

-Amarilys Gacio Rassler, author of Cuban-American Dancing on the Hyphen

"A dark ride of emotions... a deeply expressive, sometimes funny, often dark roller coaster... beautifully written, uniquely detailed narratives... Readers will laugh, cry, and cringe, but they won't be able to look away."

-Annette Masters, author of Dragonfly Down and The Hennessy Lie