Even The Most Shunned of Things is a collection of twelve original short stories that delve into the hidden corners of human experience, where the overlooked and the ostracised reside. With a keen eye for the nuances of human nature, Phil Gomm crafts tales that challenge our perceptions of normalcy and morality.
From the confines of a concentration camp to the backstage of a fading circus, from war-torn Britain to the oppressive heat of the American South, these stories traverse diverse landscapes, both geographical and psychological. The characters—a displaced Polish immigrant, an ageing clown, a child evacuee in rural Wales, an enslaved woman finding power in her craft—are united in their struggle against societal expectations and their own demons—sometimes imaginary, and oftentimes, not.
The collection explores themes of identity, power, and the human capacity for both cruelty and resilience. It examines how trauma shapes our understanding of the world and how memory can both heal and haunt.
The prose is unflinching in its portrayal of the darker aspects of human nature, yet it also finds beauty in unexpected places. These stories challenge readers to look beyond the surface, to empathise with those society often shuns, and to question the structures that produce outsiders.
In here, the shadows, the monsters, and the witches.
In here, the outcasts, the silenced, and the lost.
But even the most shunned of things have their stories…
