Last year I reviewed issue 212 of Interzone and singled out for mention the disturbing "A Handful of Pearls" by Beth Bernobich. Apex Digest has now reprinted the story online, so anyone wanting to read it can do so. But as I said previously:
I don't recommend "A Handful of Pearls" to most readers. But anyone wanting to understand how people do truly evil acts while imagining themselves to be the mistreated heroes of their own self-narratives, then this story is a must read. I'm certain that long after the fun stories I've read this year fade from memory, "A Handful of Pearls" will remain.
Six months after writing that statement it remains true, just as Bernobich's story remains lodged in my mind.
