In ‘Towards an Afro-Irreality’, his stimulating introduction to this collection of short stories, D. Harlan Wilson discusses (amongst other things) the power of irrealsim in storytelling, reflecting that ‘perhaps irreal stories have the ability to depict “reality” better than “reality” itself because they can account for conscious and unconscious realms simultaneously, imploding objectivity and subjectivity ... can come closer to representing how one might perceive the “real” world than a work of “realism” ... Only our capacity to see and interpret something makes something into something’. By the time I reached the end of his introductory essay I realised that he had eloquently encapsulated why I have always found Eugen Bacon’s stories not only enthralling, but also thought-provokingly satisfying to read. Through her multi-faceted, creative use of speculative fiction she quickly draws me into the lives of her characters, encouraging me to reflect on the challenges they are facing and to empathise with their reactions, the decisions they make, their hopes and their dreams, even when their experiences of the world are, in so many ways, very different from mine. I think this is because she so effectively combines using her life experiences as an African Australian, the gift of her wonderfully lyrical writing-style and her rich imagination, to make it possible for her readers to readily identify with the universality of the whole gamut of human emotions, needs, desires and expectations her characters are experiencing. I love the fact that no matter how long or short the stories are (the shortest is barely four pages, the longest forty-six), each one took me on what usually proved to be an unpredictable journey, one which not only felt exactly the right length for the trajectory of the storyline, but also had a resolution which felt psychologically credible and satisfying. Whether deeply-disturbing, full of sadness and yearning, dreamlike, erotic, sensuous or, occasionally, deliciously funny (and many contain a number of these elements!) each story is told using very vivid, often disturbing, imagery and pulsate with a passionate intensity, sometimes quietly gentle but often almost explosive in its rendition. This level of intensity made for such an immersive reading experience that at the end of each one I found it impossible to quickly move on to reading the next because I needed to take time to reflect on where the story had taken me in my imagination. These are stories I’ll definitely be returning to, confident that when I do I’ll find them even more enjoyable, intriguing and thought-provoking ... a confidence which enables me to unreservedly recommend ‘Chasing Whispers’ to all readers who appreciate provocative writing which makes them think!