Synopsis: Little is known of the fascinating manuscript that Nick Bantock has come to possess. It was discovered in an attic in North London, stuffed into a battered cardboard box, and unceremoniously delivered directly to Nick’s doorstep. Inside the package lay one hundred evocatively absurd stories, one hundred humorous drawings of strangely familiar, quirkish glyphs, plus a cryptically poetic note signed only as “HH.” (Possibly the well-known, eccentric billionaire, Hamilton Hasp?)

In these stories-each consisting of precisely 100 words-strange creatures slip through alleyways, and eerie streets swallow people whole. Taken altogether, they may constitute a puzzle that no one has been able to solve thus far. Could there even be one missing story?

For those perceptive readers with a curious mind, the celebrated author of Griffin & Sabine cordially invites you to find your own path through his beguiling conundrum of drabbles—or even to contribute one of your very own.

“The Corset & the Jellyfish” is an interesting and imaginative idea from the mind of the author Nick Bantock. It is a “found manuscript” purportedly sent to him by an unknown person. The stories within it consist of 100 hundred-word short stories, also known as drabbles, accompanied by strange and curious doodles.

These drabbles range from coherent stories to the utterly absurd and they may be read in any order. This book is not for someone seeking to get “lost” in a story or character. I read them a dozen or so at a time, letting the various stories sink in before picking the book up later to move on to the next batch.

The book covers a wide range of genres, like science fiction, mystery, horror, and fairy tales. Some have more realism than others, some of them leaving you wondering what just happened.

I found myself enjoying the sheer nonsense of the drabbles, which meant that I didn't have to invest deeply into the book as a whole.

While I think this may not be for everyone, readers who enjoy whimsy will likely find this book distracting and delightful. - Dee Astell