You Know What I Think?

By: Stefanie Barnfather

Narrated by: Stefanie Barnfather

Have you ever thought "what would happen if...?"

Think no more: listen instead! This collection of 13 short stories speculates about futuristic realities where the rules don't apply, and comedic chaos consumes. Artificially intelligent mowers rigidly manage a neighborhood's lawns. Air balloon hotties search for love between cross-currents. A teenage Pulitzer winner hunts monsters draped in blankets. With a hint of horror alongside plausible parodies, You Know What I Think? leaves listeners with more questions than answers.

©2022 Stefanie Barnfather (P)2022 Stefanie Barnfather

Hit and Miss

I’m a big fan of short stories. When done properly, they give you compelling characters and stories in a compact, easy to digest form. It’s unfortunate that this collection has stories that both hit and miss then. Let’s start with the basics: the writing is on point and the narration is good. Authors who read their own work can either be amazing (Neil Gaiman) or terrible (Stephen King). Barnfather chose to read her own and, though she gets off to a bit of a rough start, grows into her narration over the course of this book. Especially during the last half of the book, she leans in to these stories (and a poem!) and gives some top notch narration. Which makes it a shame that more of these stories don’t hit. Many of them have a good premise, but feel like they should have been given more time to grow into bigger stories. I WANT to explore these worlds. I WANT to know more than just the tiny snippet we’re given. I WANT more time to get to know these people and why I should care about them. A couple are repetitive, almost painfully so. Two have a similar premise which leaves me wondering about the logistics of those worlds and how humanity survives in those conditions. One doesn’t make a lick of sense until we get to the end. Some end before we ever get any answers. And one is a mystery which doesn’t get resolved at all, but hints at something truly horrible. I wonder if that’s what the author was going for.
Yet, there are some real nuggets in here where Barnfather’s strengths really come to life. Cargo Movement is powerful, poignant, and worth the price of admission by itself. It evokes a strong memory of Big Yellow Taxi, by Counting Crows, and places it in the context of what we lost during the pandemic. Do Not Talk to That Child did more of the same, though I was a bit confused at the ending. The title story, You Know What I Think?, reminds me very strongly of a particular Twilight Zone episode, but left me wanting a deeper dive into that mystery. I have so many questions about that story. Duke Ketter and the Mountain of Dragons was completely bonkers until the end, at which point it became an amazing premise of which I want so much more.
I will certainly continue to support this author, as I believe she will only become a better storyteller. Her story ideas are clever and compelling, and she has a solid foundation on which to build. I feel like some stronger content editing would have been very helpful here though.