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elmyhelmos's review against another edition
Read the Knife Thrower -story as part of a course in narratology. Might get back to this later.
rocketiza's review against another edition
3.0
None of the stories were particularly memorable to me, but the writing style was quite enchanting.
tombomp's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing collection of surreal short stories that tread the border between normal and supernatural, generally on the topic of what's real and our desires. Only one or two have explicitly supernatural elements but they all have something that feels close to it - you're never sure if it's something that could actually happen or if it's fantasy. I shelved it as "horror" even though it's not really because it comes close a lot - it reminds me a bit of someone like Ligotti, with far fewer horror elements but with similar topics, questioning our hold on reality and how solid our attachment society really is. His writing style reminds me of Kafka a bit with the way the sentences are structured.
Lots of good stories. His descriptions of things are great and highly imaginative so even the stories which are mostly description and don't really have a climax - Paradise Park and The Dream of the Consortium - are fascinating and make you think a lot on the idea behind them (a huge sophisticated amusement park and a giant department store, respectively). Maybe the highlight is "Kaspar Hauser Speaks", a short speech from the historical figure (although from a time after he'd died in real life) which contains a section which I felt perfectly encapsulated the feeling of being different in a way that forcefully separates you from others.
Other people have mentioned that he recycles themes a bit and I wouldn't disagree - some of the stories are similar to the others. But he brings a lot of new imagery and ideas to each one and personally they're themes that fascinate me so I didn't mind at all, although it'd maybe pall over multiple books.
A great collection if you're at all interested in surreal short fiction.
Lots of good stories. His descriptions of things are great and highly imaginative so even the stories which are mostly description and don't really have a climax - Paradise Park and The Dream of the Consortium - are fascinating and make you think a lot on the idea behind them (a huge sophisticated amusement park and a giant department store, respectively). Maybe the highlight is "Kaspar Hauser Speaks", a short speech from the historical figure (although from a time after he'd died in real life) which contains a section which I felt perfectly encapsulated the feeling of being different in a way that forcefully separates you from others.
Other people have mentioned that he recycles themes a bit and I wouldn't disagree - some of the stories are similar to the others. But he brings a lot of new imagery and ideas to each one and personally they're themes that fascinate me so I didn't mind at all, although it'd maybe pall over multiple books.
A great collection if you're at all interested in surreal short fiction.
vdarcangelo's review against another edition
4.0
Faves:
"The Knife Thrower," one of my all-time favorite stories
"Paradise Park," classic, total classic--amazing piece of contrafactual metafiction
"The Sisterhood of Night"
From "Paradise Park":
"It is nevertheless true that the brief history of Paradise Park, when separated from legend, may lead even the most cautious historian to wonder whether certain kinds of pleasure, by their very nature, do not seek more and more extreme forms until, utterly exhausted but unable to rest, they culminate in the black ecstasy of annihilation."
"The Knife Thrower," one of my all-time favorite stories
"Paradise Park," classic, total classic--amazing piece of contrafactual metafiction
"The Sisterhood of Night"
From "Paradise Park":
"It is nevertheless true that the brief history of Paradise Park, when separated from legend, may lead even the most cautious historian to wonder whether certain kinds of pleasure, by their very nature, do not seek more and more extreme forms until, utterly exhausted but unable to rest, they culminate in the black ecstasy of annihilation."
guspendleton's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Dreamy, immersive, and a little disturbing. "A Visit" was by far my favorite story, and one of the best I read this year. Some of stories, when read back to back, started to feel a little repetitive. Overall highly recommend.
cocoanut7's review against another edition
3.0
Intriguing and very unique writing. It explores a lot of unusual themes and ideas about human nature but they're fascinating.
mcipher's review against another edition
4.0
I'm reading this very slowly - a story or two every few weeks - and I'm finding that I'm enjoying it that way much more than if I sat down for one long read of it. This way, the fact that the voice of the stories is always so similar isn't bothering me at all, because I am reading them as completely separate entities. I always say I'm not a short story reader, but I'm wondering if that's because I've been reading them wrong all this time, and I should have been approaching them more like I'm approaching this set of stories...
Anyway, these are very weird and sometimes overly-serious, but interesing and full of those lines that really pop out at you and you re-read over again because they sound so gorgeous in your head. Really lovely writing and really interesting premises to each story. Nothing feels spelled out for you, there is a lot of thinking about what's actually happened and adding your own self to the story, trying to analyze it within your brain. Good stuff!
Anyway, these are very weird and sometimes overly-serious, but interesing and full of those lines that really pop out at you and you re-read over again because they sound so gorgeous in your head. Really lovely writing and really interesting premises to each story. Nothing feels spelled out for you, there is a lot of thinking about what's actually happened and adding your own self to the story, trying to analyze it within your brain. Good stuff!
k_hoover12's review against another edition
4.0
Going against conventional fiction writing, Millhauser puts a fantasy twist on most of his stories. The twists that he includes in all of his stories always leaves everything up for interpretation by the reader, and I found most of his stories to be very mysterious and open-ended. My favorite story of his was definitely "The Sisterhood of the Night." It was provocative, mystifying, and magical. I still don't know what to believe, and that just draws me into the story more!
evenstr's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
imitira's review against another edition
4.0
The writing is evocative regardless of the weirdness (or lack thereof) of subject matter, but I didn't find every story equally engrossing. At its best, it left me wanting to savour and re-read a story on finishing it; other times I'd move on to anything else. It's hard to read more than one story at a time, but well worth making it through to the last.