Review: 1989 by Will Stepp

1989 is a collection of short stories by Will Stepp that shares select stories from the main character's life as he grows up in the 80s. The stories are all connected to each other, sharing characters and places and even containing a sense of continuity throughout. 

Many of the stories are impactful and thought provoking and they do well to convey the era in which they are set. They also have this looming sense of danger that permeates the whole collection which gives the sense of a kid who was trying his best to contend with an often terrifying world. 

Where I felt the collection faltered was with the simple prose and the slightly confused themes. I think Stepp might have been going for a stream of consciousness kind of narrative to put the reader into the mind of the main character and in some ways this works. The story “Mail Walk” in particular has a section that really leans into this that I found to be particularly enjoyable. I would have liked to have seen more grounded descriptions that really put me into the narrative, but other than that the stories were really impactful.

1989 is a good collection of stories that does its own thing well. 

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Book Details

Author: Will SteppLength: 164 pagesReleases on January 15th. Details at https://willstepp.com/