THE TUMOR: A short story by Susannah Breslin
A new digital fiction about marriage, malignancy, and monsters
EXCERPT
"My original idea was that we take her out in the yard, and that I, an expert marksman, shoot her in the breast at the site to which she had pointed, thereby destroying the tumor. My wife remained silent but shook her head vigorously. Apparently she did not agree with this unorthodox approach that I felt would provide her with the most expedient remedy."
ABOUT
THE TUMOR is a slipstream short story starring an anthropomorphic tumor, a killer husband, and an invisible woman. Based on the author's true life experience with cancer (she's fine now!), this terrifying tale will grab you by the balls and make you scream.
REVIEWS
"A masterpiece of short fiction that reminds, in turns of Gogol's 'The Nose,' the best work of George Saunders, and, for reasons that will be obvious upon reading, the horror film classic, 'The Blob.'" -- Christian Kiefer, author of The Animals
"It's rare that a story can pull off twisted, hilarious and sad in equal and capable measure, but this one nails it. Breslin has conjured a beautiful, grotesque read." -- Chuck Wendig, author of Blackbirds
"This is one of the weirdest, smartest, most disturbing things you will read this year." -- Lydia Netzer, author of Shine Shine Shine
"Amazing and dark and sharp and hilarious." -- Clayton Cubitt, creator of Hysterical Literature
"Now, I want to go out and adopt a tumor." -- Marisa Kakoulas, creator and editor of Needles and Sins
"[I]t crawls under the skin and grows in hidden spaces of the mind." -- Ashley Benigno, creator of Snaps from Somewhere Bizarre
AUTHOR
Susannah Breslin is a freelance journalist, an award-winning blogger, and the author of You're a Bad Man, Aren't You?
CREDITS
Cover by Peteski. Page design by Domini Dragoone. Copyediting by Susan Clements. Author photo by Clayton Cubitt.
LENGTH
1,546 words