If I Had Known

And then something wonderful happened: I heard a sound. It didn't sound like an airplane noise or a glass falling to the ground, but like a whisper. It came from very close. I looked at the girl next to me. She was asleep. Then I heard it again.

When I looked down, I made a very creepy discovery. The sound came from the glossy magazine on my lap. I carefully lifted the magazine and very slowly brought my ears towards Scarlett Johansson's lips.

In the collection of stories 'If I had known' Amanda Maxwell uses a comically hesitant tone to present uncomfortable and absurd situations. She knows exactly how to capture the awkward balance of her characters between youth and adulthood. A tinkling book.

Amanda Maxwell was born in New Zealand but lives in Sydney. Some of her stories were previously published in the Netherlands in Vice Magazine. If I Had Known That is her debut.