Stripping an entire lifetime down to a few details - this is a skill which entire books could be written about. It’s the ability to choose from all the spectrum of the character’s activities and surroundings: the ones that tell us most about the character’s set of circumstances. It’s an art in itself choosing those very words that tell us more about the character’s situation, about his or her personality, while giving us a feel of the atmosphere of the era (this is especially important in the case of historical fiction), or just placing us in time. There’s also another aspect of time in flash fiction to consider: because of the low word count, there are only so many words than can be used in order to establish a timeline. It is no small feat, and the result of this kind of compression can have a staggering effect on the reader. They illustrate the various techniques that can be employed to make time dilate in flash fiction - or rather contract to a few dozens or hundred words.

It can encompass hours, days, months, a lifetime or even more, as we’ll see in the examples listed below. Flash fiction can stretch far beyond the few pages (or the fraction of a page) it occupies.

But this doesn’t mean that flash fiction has to limit its temporal reach to a short span of time. Bottled Goods is an impressive debut in the tradition of Eastern European Absurdist fiction.Flash fiction is an exercise in brevity: this is nothing new. ‘A story to savour, to smile at, to rage against and to weep over.’ – Zoe Gilbert, author of ‘Folk’ Lucid and powerfully affecting.’ – Helen Rye, winner of the Bath Flash Fiction Award ‘Sophie van Llewyn’s stunning debut novella shows us there is no dystopian fiction as frightening as that which draws on history.’ – Christina Dalcher, author of ‘VOX’ ‘A masterful blend of the political and the personal, the magical and the mundane, the historical and the hyperbolic.’ – Ingrid Jendrzejewski, editor-in-chief of FlashBack Fiction ‘Sophie van Llewyn has brought light into an era which cast a long shadow.’ – Joanna Campbell, author ‘The uncertainties of life and love, and the insatiable quest for freedom – bottled neatly in a set of stories that captivate and enchant.’ – Michelle Elvy, coordinator of New Zealand’s Flash Fiction Day and Bath Flash Fiction Award judge ‘A must-read by a masterful writer.’ – Christopher Allen, author of ‘Other Household Toxins’ ‘A dizzying, daring window on life in Ceausescu’s Romania.’ – Stephanie Hutton, author of ‘Three Sisters of Stone’ ‘A superb example of the novella-in-flash genre.

Sophie van llewyn