Soul Jar: Thirty-One Fantastical Tales by Disabled Authors

TL:DR: I highly recommend. There is little disability representation in SFF. That itself lends to why this is a very special anthology, but also is it simply well done. Why do I think it's such a wonderful collection? Because it made me think, it made me feel, it has awesome SFF and I had fun with it. To learn a little bit about my favorite short stories, scroll way down.

Overview & Context:Soul Jar: Thirty-One Fantastical Tales by Disabled Authors, edited by Annie Carl, was published by Forest Avenue Press in October of 2023. The 31 stories are divided between four sections: Earth in Retrograde, Gone Astray, Wild Space and Creature Feature. Nicola Griffith (author of the novella Spear) wrote the forward and Carl wrote the introduction. To quote Griffith: “Ableism is the story fed to us all, disabled and non-disabled, from birth: that to have intellectual or physical impairments makes us less, Other. It's the only story we get in real life or on page or screen. Ableism is a crap story.” Carl explains that when attending a bookseller trade show, the panel on celebrating diversity did not discuss disabilities. When Carl asked about how to support disabled booksellers and authors, the panel was silent. Afterwards, she was approached by a publisher from Forest Avenue Press and the rest is now history.

Why I picked up this anthology: I was seeking something off the beaten path. I found some good options, but this one grabbed me from the title alone. When I went to Goodreads over a month ago, it only had 23 ratings, now 41, so off the beaten path indeed. I've read two memoirs by authors with disabilities and as a person without disabilities (and at the time not knowing a person with disabilities) these memoirs changed my life. They changed a lot about how I look at the built environment, public events, the workplace, etc., but in my reading they created a new lens to critique through: how people speak about people with disabilities and how language is used in general; where disability representation is present or void; and how I personally perpetuate or reject ableism. My experience watching the SFF-related online communities is that generally: 1) it is a minority of reviewers who talk about diversity or who actively seek diversity in their reading; 2) when speaking about diversity they mostly talk about diversity of author race, author ethnicity, author gender, or LGBTQIA+ authors or characters; and 3) there is a paucity of SFF characters with disability and of SFF books written by authors with disability. So between all of that it was really a no brainer for me to pick it up.

My opinion on this anthology: It is fantastic. I love the organization of the four sections and how it has a little something for everyone. Some stories weren't hits for me, but I could still see how they'd be someone's cup of tea. Yes too, there are weaker stories amongst the strongest. But for a short story collection, it's exactly what I would expect and what I wanted. It has stories that transported me in different ways or had me in awe of an author's creativity and imagination — that is why I read SFF. As a reader, sometimes I explicitly knew what disability was being discussed, other times I made assumptions based on what I know, and there are some that I think are SFF stories without disability themes or representation in them — but I really don't know. There is a Contributor Biographies section, but I wish there was an additional note from each author about their intention and what they hoped the reader would feel or take away from their story. Additionally, there is no explanation of the curation process for each section, my descriptors below are just guesses. Overall, I think this is such a great anthology, because it made me think, it made me feel a variety of emotions, I had a great time with the SFF stories and I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience.

Disability Themes: This collection is rich in themes to dissect. Some stories are about the physical pain a character might manage, while others are about the pain of living in a society that views people with disabilities as being less than, not valued and needing to change. There are some about purposefully being restricted and harmed because of these views. There is anger and rage. There is also joy and love around being a person with disabilities and being loved and valued as they are by others. There's the bravery to take risks and self-acceptance. There are a couple that parallel the willfully ignorant policies and practices that are prevalent today. Most of the stories I read (at least minus one, noted in favorites) are nuanced. They seamlessly weave these themes into the fantastical stories being told or entwine them brilliantly if a character clearly has a disability amongst the fantastical goings-on.

Why I didn't read every story: You'll notice below I didn't read every story. In fact, I only completed 20 out of the 31. I decided to only read the first page of a short story and continue with it if I was feeling it or move on to the next if I wasn't. It had nothing to do with the book, writing or author, it was purely a feeling and mood in the moment. Why? Because that's just what I decided to do. I strongly recommend this method if you struggle with anthologies and want to enjoy them.

The four sections and my favorite stories:

Earth in Retrograde — I read 6 of the 9 stories. Dystopian and post-apocalyptic, two of my least favorite SFF subgenres. I surprisingly enjoyed these three and think they're amongst the strongest of the book:
• There are no Hearing Aid Batteries after the Apocalypse by Carolina Scheina. After the world fell apart, Kesslyn realizes the batteries in her hearing aids are gone and she can no longer hear.
• Survivor's Club by Morgan Beaudry. The air carries a killer virus and the survivors are locked in their homes. We meet our MC, who has a chronic illness, some years after they received a lung transplant. This initially seemed like a pandemic story, and maybe it is, but I think it's more. I was angry, I was sad, I was crying by the end and it is in my top five stories.
• Song of Bullfrogs, Crystal of Geese by Nicolas Griffith (originally published in Interzone and Aboriginal, 1991). While humanity is slowly dying and most have congregated in urban centers, Molly is the last living and remaining resident of her apartment complex, which is surrounded by nature.

Gone Astray — read 5 of 7. This is the hardest section for me to parse what links the stories together. I think they're about succumbing, fate, maybe?:
• The Sorrow Stealer by A.J. Cunder. We meet an entity that takes away people's sorrow and is content with that, until something happens.
• Delbrot, Peace Warrior! by Holly Saiki. I lich is being chased in the forest. Though the pursuer thinks that they are the hero and that the lich should be killed and is unholy, the story is a bit absurd and silly in the best way. One of my top favorites and likely the source of the anthology title.
• The Warp and Weft of a Norse Villainous by El Park. A first-person story about one of the Sisters Three, Skuld, cutter of threads, who lives below the Tree of Life. Lots of anger here and it is one of my top favorites.

Wild Space — read 5 of 6. Science fiction, from space to aliens. Here are my two favorites (which are very high in the favorites list):
• Weightless by Raven Oak (originally published in The Great Beyond, 2020). We follow a passenger with a larger body and persistent pain from an old surgery embarking on space travel, which is never fun. Rage activated, heartstrings pulled with this one.
• The Definitions of Professional Attire by Evergreen Lee (originally published in Factor Four Magazine, 2019). This is about a detective who is directed to conceal their third eye and hooves in order to make their colleagues more comfortable in the workplace. Something happens in this short story where a permanent harm results from the workplace policy. It broke my heart and I have thought about it on and off since reading, and I currently have tears in my eyes just from writing this out.

Creature Feature — read 4 of 7. Fantastical beings or creatures. Clearly all four read stories were favorites since they're all below:
• Lucy by Judy Lunsford. An imaginary friend is assigned to a new kid. Clocking in at a whopping 4 pages, this is one of my top five favorites. If you are a dog or animal lover, it's a must-read.
• A Peril of Being Human by Julie Reeser. This is about a shapeshifter therapist. It begins with her using her shape shifting ability in her therapy sessions, but it is really about her and self-acceptance.
• The Arroyo Fiasco by Dawn Vogel. A geyser pterosaur, who's been nicknamed Fiasco by their community, is just trying to make a real name for themself and be helpful.
• The Rising Currents of Ocean Fire in my Blood by Bethy Wernert. A difficult story about a mermaid locked in an aquarium by her parents and told she has no say and no rights to her life because she has autism. Though it begins fantastical and by the end is a bit on the nose, I was deeply touched and disturbed by this one.