Welcome to Issue 20 of Zooscape!
It’s easier to stare trauma in the face when it has the face of a cat. Art Spiegelman knew this when he chose to tell his father’s story, Maus, in the form of a graphic novel featuring mice, cats, pigs, and dogs rather than normal humans. It’s hard to look straight at the horrors and atrocities humans commit. Throwing in a little fur softens the hard edges, making it possible for us to reckon and wrestle with the harshness of reality.
Most of the stories in this issue wrestle with the darkness we have to face in this world, but they’re also beautiful, occasionally funny, and if you stick it out to the end, you’ll find one that’s just outright fun.
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The Unbearable Weight of a Photograph by Jelena Dunato
The Last Life of a Time-Travelling Cat by A.P. Golub
Night in the Garden by Marshall L. Moseley
Proper Pedagogy by Jessica Cho
Rusty by Steve Loiaconi
Honey Harvest by Spencer Orey
The Three-Piece Giant by Gabrielle Steele
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As always, if you want to support Zooscape, check out our Patreon. Also, you can pick up e-book or paperback volumes of our first ten issues bundled into three anthologies, complete with an illustration for every story.