Tales to Read Before the End of the World — Hadena James

This is a collection of short stories exploring the absurd. Most of the short stories contained within this book revolve around central themes. "Everything Changes" is about the vanity of the human condition. "Faking It" takes aim at the absurdity of modern society. And "Beale Street Blues" explores the breakdown of communication within a relationship. These three themes are continously prodded while the reader attempts to understand them. The exceptions are "Ascension" and "The Worst Date Ever". "Ascension" is piece of historical fiction, based in Ancient Egypt. And while it doesn't explore the absurdity of modern society, it does exploit some of the absurd notions of even our greatest ancient civilizations. "The Worst Date Ever" takes the everything terrifying and horrendous about the world of dating and combines them into a comedy of errors.