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jayisreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
This was a surprisingly reflective collection and a significant departure in tone (and perhaps even style) from Chung’s previous short story collection, Cursed Bunny. While Cursed Bunny leaned into the weird and classic horror, the horror of Your Utopia is more insidious and reminiscent of what I would say is a reflection of our world today and the possible direction it’s heading towards. This short story collection puts utopia and dystopia in conversation with each other with technology in mind. Each story grapples with the meaning of a “better” world as a result of technological advancements, if that actually is the case or not. Relatedly, “hope” and “empathy” are contentious concepts in this collection as each story switches between perspectives of the human and nonhuman, often resulting in a different emotional response, depending on who is speaking and what the theme happens to be. I also found the afterword from the author particularly illuminating, as it went into some of her inspirations and reflections on real-world circumstances, ultimately, adding layers to already complex stories.
I enjoyed most of the stories for different reasons, but I was especially taken to “A Song for Sleep,” which was told from the perspective of a highly advanced elevator who is drawn to an elderly resident of the building it operates in. I was really taken to how emotionally impactful this story was in how it reflected on what it means to be human from the perspective of a nonhuman.
While I did find that I wanted some of these stories to be a bit more fleshed out, they weren’t unsatisfying by any means. I’m really impressed by the depth of this collection and the questions it poses about the world we are (and could be) living in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Cannibalism, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Stalking and Drug use
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