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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Overall: 4/5
Narration: 5/5 John Mulaney was the perfect choice.
I love short story collections and went into this blind. What an unexpected delight. A humorous and melancholic reconciliation with aging and the loss of our younger, naive selves.
Turning 32 this year is crazy. I know I’m not old, but I’m also not that carefree kid anymore either. And so many of these stories hit that exact feeling. I miss the version of me that lived in the golden days of the 99s and 2000s—the person who saw Step Up in theaters before ever knowing about back pain, taxes, and the absolute disaster that is the cost of living. This book captures that—the reckoning with where we’ve been and where we are now.
I know people are going to laugh at the first two stories. If you grew up playing every Mario game, you have to wonder—did Mario ever actually have a home? And for anyone who’s ever joked about what we’ll tell our future kids about today’s world, Millennial Fable hits in a way that’s both hilarious and kind of sad.
I’ve seen people say the humor is cheap, the jokes don’t always land, or that it’s just dad-joke territory. And honestly? I think that’s the point. The narration by John Mulaney? 10/10. It adds to that feeling of aging—the way our humor shifts, the way we laugh at things we shouldn’t, the way nostalgia sneaks up on us.
Some readers might find this book heavier than intended. Yes, it’s lighthearted and insightful, but there’s definitely a sadness woven in. Some people will resonate with it deeply, others might find it hits too close to home.
Story Ratings:
* History Report: 4.5/5 | Mario: 5/5
* Millennial Fable: 3.5/5 | The City Speaks: 5/5
* Participation Trophy: 4/5 | Time: 3/5
* Time Travel Family Counseling Inc.: 4/5
* Punishment: 3.5/5 | Riding The Rails: 4.5/5
* Tooth Fairy: 3.5/5 | The Mission: 5/5
* The Emperor’s New Clothes: 2/5 | Minutes: 4/5
* Dystopia: 4/5 | Kerosene: 2.5/5
* We’re Not So Different, You And I: 4.5/5
* Goliath: 5/5 | Thanksgiving Rider: 3/5
* Hey Millennials: 2.5/5
Quotes:
- “They needed to find some other place to eat, but neither of them had Internet access, so their only option was to physically search for food, by walking around and looking in random directions —like, truly the same process used by animals”
- “The truth is that sending your parents to the past is unlikely to make them see the errors of their ways”
- “ someday, I’ll-a run out of continues, but in the meantime, I’ve got plenty of lives left.”
- “ I fear old people more: because once they stop trying to be young, that’s when they can really do some damage”
- “ and it occurred to you that maybe all this time, instead of ignoring life, or scavenging it for material, you should have… What’s the word I’m looking for? Oh yeah. Participated.”
Narration: 5/5 John Mulaney was the perfect choice.
I love short story collections and went into this blind. What an unexpected delight. A humorous and melancholic reconciliation with aging and the loss of our younger, naive selves.
Turning 32 this year is crazy. I know I’m not old, but I’m also not that carefree kid anymore either. And so many of these stories hit that exact feeling. I miss the version of me that lived in the golden days of the 99s and 2000s—the person who saw Step Up in theaters before ever knowing about back pain, taxes, and the absolute disaster that is the cost of living. This book captures that—the reckoning with where we’ve been and where we are now.
I know people are going to laugh at the first two stories. If you grew up playing every Mario game, you have to wonder—did Mario ever actually have a home? And for anyone who’s ever joked about what we’ll tell our future kids about today’s world, Millennial Fable hits in a way that’s both hilarious and kind of sad.
I’ve seen people say the humor is cheap, the jokes don’t always land, or that it’s just dad-joke territory. And honestly? I think that’s the point. The narration by John Mulaney? 10/10. It adds to that feeling of aging—the way our humor shifts, the way we laugh at things we shouldn’t, the way nostalgia sneaks up on us.
Some readers might find this book heavier than intended. Yes, it’s lighthearted and insightful, but there’s definitely a sadness woven in. Some people will resonate with it deeply, others might find it hits too close to home.
Story Ratings:
* History Report: 4.5/5 | Mario: 5/5
* Millennial Fable: 3.5/5 | The City Speaks: 5/5
* Participation Trophy: 4/5 | Time: 3/5
* Time Travel Family Counseling Inc.: 4/5
* Punishment: 3.5/5 | Riding The Rails: 4.5/5
* Tooth Fairy: 3.5/5 | The Mission: 5/5
* The Emperor’s New Clothes: 2/5 | Minutes: 4/5
* Dystopia: 4/5 | Kerosene: 2.5/5
* We’re Not So Different, You And I: 4.5/5
* Goliath: 5/5 | Thanksgiving Rider: 3/5
* Hey Millennials: 2.5/5
Quotes:
- “They needed to find some other place to eat, but neither of them had Internet access, so their only option was to physically search for food, by walking around and looking in random directions —like, truly the same process used by animals”
- “The truth is that sending your parents to the past is unlikely to make them see the errors of their ways”
- “ someday, I’ll-a run out of continues, but in the meantime, I’ve got plenty of lives left.”
- “ I fear old people more: because once they stop trying to be young, that’s when they can really do some damage”
- “ and it occurred to you that maybe all this time, instead of ignoring life, or scavenging it for material, you should have… What’s the word I’m looking for? Oh yeah. Participated.”
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Clever wit and laugh out loud funny at times.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
I only read the short stories in here that were recommended by my cousin (who sent me the book after she'd read it), but they were delightful and fun! Just what I needed. "Millennial Fable" was probably my favorite.
This is a collection of short stories with a wide range of topics that are probably best appreciated by Millennials and Gen X. I listened to the audiobook, read by John Mulaney, who actually was perfect for the level of sarcasm required for really appreciating the humor and absurdity of this book. I laughed pretty hard at a lot of his narration, especially during Mario - an update of a 40-year-old, burned out Mario of Super Mario Brothers, where John Mulaney spent the entire chapter doing his best Mario voice. I don’t know that I would have found that chapter as funny if I’d read it in print.
The stories are clever and weird, and definitely for people who appreciate a specific style of humor. I also loved the shoutout to Rochester and the D&C in “The Mission,” which was a nice nugget for a local. Not every story is a winner but the good ones are pretty enjoyable.
The stories are clever and weird, and definitely for people who appreciate a specific style of humor. I also loved the shoutout to Rochester and the D&C in “The Mission,” which was a nice nugget for a local. Not every story is a winner but the good ones are pretty enjoyable.
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
dark
funny
fast-paced
The topics of these short stories are fantastic. I admire the ideas for sure. The first one about dating in the "present" but set in the future was laugh-out-loud funny. I suspect the one about Mario's mid-life crisis will stick in my mind for a long time to come. There are many other clever stories.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Simon Rich never disappoints!! He is the master of comedic short stories. If you’re a fan sketch comedy or TV shows like the Simpsons than you should feel write at home with a book like this.