Caldwell
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I have 169 stories published in
10 collections on the site.
My stories have been read 170442 times
and 173 of my stories have been cherry picked.
32 of my 264 comments have been voted Great Feedback with a total of 33 votes
Christopher Caldwell
I grew up in England and have since made a home in France, on the banks of the Loire. My writing explores how family, place, and history leave their traces on us.
My collections
My stories
The Hug Reflex
It was still dark outside. I sleep without the curtains drawn — perhaps inviting anyone to somehow filter through the glass and slip under the covers...
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- 2 comments
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- 91 reads
One last riddle for the week (I promise)
I first saw L’appartement at the cinema in 1996. For the film to work, the protagonist needs to radiate charisma, and I suppose, given its success,...
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- 4 comments
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- 115 reads
The outline
Some dreams never arrive, and yet they leave a trace - the clean-edged hollow of what might have been. We speak of emptiness as if it’s nothing, but...
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- 5 comments
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- 191 reads
It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at
We tell ourselves we want change. We stare across the divide at that other life - greener, cleaner, fuller, freer - and we feel the ground beneath us...
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- 2 comments
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- 123 reads
Riddles
In 1984, Nick Kershaw’s The Riddle was in the charts - a mysterious, catchy song full of apparently profound but entirely nonsensical lyrics. It...
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- 1 comment
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- 101 reads
Reading your reply, I realise
Posted on Mon, 25 Aug 2025
Reading your reply, I realise I’d made light of something much weightier - apologies if my Richard Scarry detour seemed flippant. I suppose as a firstborn I’ve always felt I had enough hardship without taking on the bigger questions too. But you’...
Read full commentPosted in Lit
Appreciated
Posted on Thu, 28 Nov 2024
Thank you, feels strange to be bearing all and not hiding behind ideas and jokes and I appreciate this is not a therapy forum, but there's still some worth I think in remembering someone publicly, even if those you're sharing with had no idea of...
Read full commentPosted in Adam Hopkins September 1939 - November 2024
It was such an easy read.
Posted on Mon, 18 Nov 2024
It was such an easy read. From the first sentence, I was in your world and got quite upset with the forgiving nature of your narrator and her terrible but probably all-too-common situation. I have always been freaked out by Punch and Judy, never...
Read full commentPosted in Cricks Crocodile
Brought back a flood of
Posted on Sun, 05 Oct 2025
Brought back a flood of memories. Scrubbs Lane was guaranteed to land you a puncture, and the roads there, slick with oil from the HGVs trundling along piled high with scrap metal. There's nothing worse than a commute in the encroaching winter...
Read full commentPosted in Push a Pedal
Thank you so much Drew. I got
Posted on Sun, 28 Sep 2025
Thank you so much Drew. I got a bit obsessed and couldn't sleep last night until that ethical one was done, and then this one just flowed out this morning. Not so hard to parody this caricature of a man. He sort of does it for you.
Read full commentPosted in Trump reads Hansel and Gretel
Thank you for the praise -
Posted on Sat, 27 Sep 2025
Thank you for the praise - and the cherries! It's a really great trigger for inspiration. I think I have a few more attempts before the week is out
Read full commentPosted in La Barbe Bleue
The film "Straight Outta
Posted on Tue, 23 Sep 2025
The film "Straight Outta Compton" is really powerful and provided people like me with a real insight, both as a piece of storytelling and as a snapshot of a cultural moment. The casting of O’Shea Jackson Jr. as his father (Ice Cube) adds another...
Read full commentPosted in Would the real 'Rap God', please stand up?
I don't want to go back to a
Posted on Tue, 16 Sep 2025
I don't want to go back to a corporate environment. Bleugh. Very well captured.
Read full commentPosted in Kettle Violation
Reminds me of the J G Ballard
Posted on Sun, 14 Sep 2025
Reminds me of the J G Ballard story Concrete Island. What a scary thought.
Read full commentPosted in The Last Train
Fair enough. Just to be
Posted on Sat, 13 Sep 2025
Fair enough. Just to be absolutely clear, my response wasn't intended to be critical, but curious, and you led me to make some discoveries for which I thank you. Happy Sunday to you
Read full commentPosted in Elephant.
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