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future_dreamer's review against another edition
4.0
The Cleaners is a short story by Ken Liu & is one of 5 of Amazon Original Stories Faraway Collection. An alternate reality where people have their posessions "cleaned" because they are "dirty" with the memories of their owners.
I liked this short story because it reminds me of how some people believe that some objects like jewelry carry the essence of the people who wore them. This story also reminds me of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in the movie the protagonist wants all her memories of her Ex to be erased. The idea that objects hold painful memories that need to be "cleaned" so we don't have to relive them anymore isn't always the answer to being happier.
I liked this short story because it reminds me of how some people believe that some objects like jewelry carry the essence of the people who wore them. This story also reminds me of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in the movie the protagonist wants all her memories of her Ex to be erased. The idea that objects hold painful memories that need to be "cleaned" so we don't have to relive them anymore isn't always the answer to being happier.
ziskala's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
3.0
An interesting concept for a world. Would like to read a full story in this universe.
eobehrens's review against another edition
3.0
I think this short story need more pages to allow the author to really create something great. This seemed like it was just the tip of the iceberg and I wished I could've seen where it should've gone.
magmaticious's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 stars
"To allow others the space for secrets was the greatest gesture of love she knew how to give, but did they understand that?"
Wow, I really enjoyed The Cleaners. This short story is (very loosely) inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea and takes place in a version of our world wherein our emotions and memories are imprinted onto the items we interact with in everyday life. For many people, a simple touch brings a surge of emotion from previous holders of the item- sometimes good, but other times very bad. What would your life be like if you were overly-sensitive to the residual memories others leave behind? What if you were one of the few people who couldn't feel them at all? This story speculates on these questions in a thought-provoking way that I quite liked, and I recommend giving it a read.
"To allow others the space for secrets was the greatest gesture of love she knew how to give, but did they understand that?"
Wow, I really enjoyed The Cleaners. This short story is (very loosely) inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea and takes place in a version of our world wherein our emotions and memories are imprinted onto the items we interact with in everyday life. For many people, a simple touch brings a surge of emotion from previous holders of the item- sometimes good, but other times very bad. What would your life be like if you were overly-sensitive to the residual memories others leave behind? What if you were one of the few people who couldn't feel them at all? This story speculates on these questions in a thought-provoking way that I quite liked, and I recommend giving it a read.
bookthrifter's review against another edition
4.5
the only reason it isn’t 5 stars is bc i’m devastated there isn’t more
eline_e's review against another edition
4.0
The concept was very interesting, and I wouldn't mind reading a longer version of this.
angelgrrl's review against another edition
3.0
I was excited to see a story by Ken Liu.
I liked the idea of how objects accumulate memories as they are passed from person to person, but I ended up spending a lot of the story confused about the physical memory deposits and trying to wrap my mind around the idea, which led to me not being able to sit back and enjoy the overall story.
I liked the idea of how objects accumulate memories as they are passed from person to person, but I ended up spending a lot of the story confused about the physical memory deposits and trying to wrap my mind around the idea, which led to me not being able to sit back and enjoy the overall story.
anitamarie's review against another edition
4.0
In this short story The cleaner is hired to wash away painful memories, but is it better to retain or remove memories.