The Cottage on the Hill (Electric Literature's Recommended Reading)

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In this issue of Recommended Reading, guest editor Matt Williamson picks a J. Robert Lennon story from the archives of Unstuck magazine.

From Matt's introduction:
“The Cottage on the Hill” is a horror story, but it’s a J. Robert Lennon horror story, in which the characters’ loneliness—their disconnectedness, their inability, at times, even to speak or listen to one another—is more chilling than any of the supernatural elements. Like his new book, Familiar , “Cottage” puts us in a world where our children and partners may be aliens or enemies, and where—the scariest part—we may not be able to prevent ourselves from hurting, terrorizing, or even destroying the people we most want to protect.

About Recommended Reading:
Great authors inspire us. But what about the stories that inspire them? Recommended Reading, the latest project from Electric Literature, publishes one story every week, each chosen by a great author or editor. In this age of distraction, we uncover writing that's worth slowing down and spending some time with. And in doing so, we help give great writers, literary magazines, and independent presses the recognition they deserve.

About the Author:
J. Robert Lennon is the author of a story collection, Pieces For The Left Hand, and seven novels, including Mailman, Castle, and Familiar. He teaches writing at Cornell University.

About the Guest Editor
Unstuck is an independent literary journal based in Austin, Texas, which emphasizes stories, poems, and even essays with elements of the fantastic, the futuristic, the surreal or the strange. Unstuck is particularly interested in fiction in the tradition of writers like Borges, Bulgakov, Marquez, and Vonnegut: stories that straddle or blur the boundaries between “literary fiction” and “science fiction” . The journal publishes a mix of new and established writers from around the world.