Carousel
“…the scantness of the stories, the fragility of their connection, the ultimately brief glimpses of our protagonist Alana, offer a tacit observation about how the briefest moments, the smallest triumphs, the tiniest ruins, make up a whole life.
“Recommended excerpt: Check out “Evil Eye”, in which Haldoupis fits three generations, inter-generational immigration tensions and the science-superstition dichotomy into less than one page.”
“Though this collection is very firmly rooted in the real, it is always gesturing to something more. Something that could be, something unsaid, between the stories, within the stoppages and continuations. The things you cannot move past until you examine them first; memory, death, love. Tiny Ruins expertly faces and turns away from these topics both through its subject matter and structure, in a way that refuses conclusivity, somehow both broad and microscopic in its focus at the same time.”
antilang
“The scenes that comprise Tiny Ruins are primarily no longer than one page, and so the reader is dropped into a scene, pulled out, and then launched into another in quick succession. Abruptly encountering scenes builds momentum as the reader is propelled forward. This style forges a bond between the book’s form and content—Alana feels her world shifting rapidly around friendships and romantic interests, and this is mirrored in the rapid delivery of each scene.”
TEAGAL Lifestyle
“Although Haldoupis’ stylistic choices stand out to the reader, the character development carries the story. […] As a coming-out story, its creative approach gives it a space to be relatable and not overpowering or predictable. […] It is a book I wish I had had in my younger years when learning about myself.”
“The snapshot storytelling component really works here. Each page has sections that look like direct dives into the protagonist’s memories, speaking on random events and experiences that somehow come together to tell a cohesive character-driven narrative that captures so many different emotional beats.”
