Also on Snow White Hates Apples.

What would you do when you accidentally spill a loved one’s blood in your garden, only for it to birth a mind-blogging, horrific creature of sorts the next day?

For Thomas, he does what his dying wife wants. He takes more of her blood and sprinkles it over their garden — the one she dreamed of so he worked hard to turn into reality — and the next day, her wish comes true. She does this again and again, and it gets more ghastly the more she loses herself in this “miraculous” ability of hers that could give her what she has always, truly wanted: her deceased baby back to life and proper parents to care for the child.

In essence, this short story is hair-raising. It’s so creepy, so odd that imagining it brings shivers down my spine. Sadly, the juvenile execution does this short story no justice.

Cabbage suffers from writing with a flow akin to endless stumbling. It switches between moments of smoothness and moments when the imagery sticks out like a sore thumb. For instance, the usage of “thick, purple life” for blood coming out of a human’s veins makes it feel alien/sci-fi but it’s not? And, the phrase “his leaking wife” should sound scary but brings incontinence to mind instead of what’s actually intended.

Moreover, both Thomas and Rosemary aren’t fleshed out enough, even for a short story. Thomas feels too caricaturish. Rosemary has stronger wants, needs and desires but is relegated to side character status. Neither make me want to root for them even though I understand where they’re coming from. Nevertheless, I do think Cabbage would’ve worked better in Rosemary’s POV because of those aforesaid wants, needs and desires. There’s a lot of potential for it to have a stronger horror/gothic atmosphere too.

Also, this might just be me, but the playlist, poems and quotes were unnecessary. Sure, they’re cool but I believe that when doing this, they should be there to add to the short story. Instead, they appear as distractions here because they don’t really bring value or depth and rather, act more like an attempt to cover up the aspects that were lacking.

Everything considered, Cabbage could’ve been a haunting tale but ultimately fell short.

 

The dialogue in this is Hot Garbagé. I’ve never met anyone in my life who speaks like this and I’ve never read dialogue like it! Mad! Ironically: wooden! Also I didn’t find it especially spooky or tense because it read like aesops fables.

A horror novella of tragedy, the terrifying and the macabre. Telling the tale of Rosemary and Thomas, C.S. Fritz turns a harmless vegetable into a terrifying gift that is less than harmless. This was an interesting concept for a story that bleeds terror without the need for violence or excess gore. Cabbage had me speeding through the short story, with a sense of dread and mystery on each page. With only 56 pages, Fritz creates a creative story that is marred with a terrifying atmosphere that is a perfect read for Halloween or those who love the strange and macabre.

Thank you, NetGalley and Albatross Book Co. for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

ARC review; thanks to Netgalley, Albatross Book Co., Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the access to this ebook. 

This is such an interesting short story! I love that it takes gardening (including planting cabbages) to the absurd to explore themes like grief, life and death, resentment, and letting go. 

It's only 46 pages, but it's written really well, and even though I didn't make a deep emotional connection with the characters, this felt very unique and well done for what it is. 

When I read Cabbage yesterday morning, I thought “Welp, that’s going to give me nightmares,” and then it actually did. That’s not something that has ever happened before!

In this short horror story, an elderly couple discovers a miracle in their garden, but is it truly a gift, or is it in fact a curse? It’s somehow both charming and frightening, and the entire last page gave me the chills. C.S. Fritz is a fantastic artist, wordsmith, and I haven’t read any of his other horror books (yet!), but if this one is any indication, he’s also a master of incredible imagery. His descriptions of… literally everything were *chef’s kiss* so when I woke up from that nightmare I knew my own brain had nothing to do with it - it was all Fritz’s fault.

When (not if) you grab this book, grab your headphones too, because it includes a QR code to a Spotify playlist curated by Fritz himself that you can listen to as you read. I don’t typically listen to music while reading but this was such a novel idea, I had to give it a go and I was immediately happy with my decision. The playlist is absolutely perfect. It fit the tone of the story so well, and though I finished the book before the it was complete, I always felt like the music matched up well with what I was reading. Fritz made a playlist for another of his books, A Fig for All the Devils, and I can’t wait to listen while I read that one too!

I’ve always been a bit selective when it comes to my favorite books, but I’ve had the very rare and highly-sought after Book Adding Ceremony and Cabbage is now on the list. Time to buy a physical copy!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Albatross Book Co., from whom I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Cabbage is already out. Go get it!

A quick enjoyable read, with good pacing and imagery. 

Although the story feels familiar to me, and I would like more backstory on what happened to Anna, it was enjoyable with a satisfying ending.