The Banquet

Do we need another story about a survivor of sexual assault? Yes we do! I can promise that if you read The Banquet by Villimey Mist that you will be fully satisfied by the main character Maria's perspective!

My only criticism of this  short story is that the themes of the dynamics on how survivors are treated could have been expanded upon even more in a novella format but Villimey does a wonderful job with what she does portray in such a brief period of time.

The story's theme is surviving assault which may be a sensitive topic for some readers. But if you are able to venture into this story, you will be satisfied with the ending.

As a culture we have a long way to go in taking victims of sexual assault seriously, so stories like this one are much needed to provide more space for believing women's voices. I have not experienced as many stories like this on the page since I read the memoir  Know My Name which is one of the reasons why I cant recommend it enough. I have more recently experienced stories like this through film---the Black Christmas remake and the most recent movie Promising Young Woman. I would definitely add this horror short story to the list of stories to read in examining how society treats victims!

I am also posting this review on Goodreads.