Reviews

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu

vickywong710's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

I really wanted to enjoy this collection having bawled my eyes out at one of Ken Liu’s short stories from the Paper Menagerie. It was a bit of a mixed bag for me. 

I think this NPR review (https://www.npr.org/2020/02/27/809212959/the-hidden-girl-is-smart-but-not-entirely-human) best sums up some of the problems I had with the collection, which was yes there were lots of intriguing thought experiments in the book, but overall it doesn’t feel like a cohesive set of stories.

There were some shorts stories that really stood out, I think the ones that centre on a parent-child bond tend to be the strongest. “Thoughts and Prayers” is a haunting story about grief and trolling in the modern age, “the Message” about a father who reconnects with his estranged daughter was also very moving, and “Maxwell’s Demon” about a Japanese-American woman sent to Japan during World War Two to spy for the Americans was also a haunting stand out.

One problem I had with the collection was that all the stories take place in disparate places and and universes with different rules, and once you finish one story after a couple of pages, you’re immediately thrown into a different world and have to quickly learn a new set of rules and how to read that story. And this re-learning of the rules just repeats itself over and over again and I personally found the experience a bit frustrating.

There’s one story arc split into three short stories, and while that is one of the more intriguing in the collection, but I did find myself having to go back to go back and forth to remind myself what happened just because the stories in between were so dense with detail.

This was a slog for me and I think part of that could be a me problem, I was reading this collection in short bursts and on my commute and i did a lot of working from home the last few weeks so it took a bit longer than normal to finish the book. I’m willing to give this collection a second reading and take my time with it, but for now it’s a 2.5/5 stars for me until I revisit it.

ftyler's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

mikkelmiguelon's review

5.0

For Ken Liu, the future is clear! We all will be uploaded onto the cloud :) Even though it's a much recurring theme (and probably even the truth) the book is full of wonderful and fantastical stories. It takes some time every now and then to emerge yourself fully in the worlds he created, but it always leaves you wanting more.

ohwriting's review against another edition

I adored the Paper Menagerie and whilst their were maybe one or two stories that were on the weaker side, the entire reading experience was great and I always wanted to come back for more. That cannot be said for this one. A lot of the stories are a bit a slog to get through and ultimately Is at it down and justd id not feel the urge to pick it back up. And I didn't find Ken Liu's short stories this time around to be as interesting. But that may just be me. 

zsabella's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Grief

Moderate: Xenophobia, War, Gun violence, and Death

benghan's review

5.0

I will not revisit every story in this collection, but the 8 stories or so dealing with humanities slow ascension into a digital consciousness will stay in my thoughts for years to come, to say nothing of the magic and wonder in the other unrelated stories.

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories is a gift to the world.

jauboyjr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.25

31_camillagoh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

tonyleachsf's review

5.0

I love Ken Liu’s short story collections. They’re haunting and full of terror - but also of love.

Many of these could be made into great video games. Others should be left as they are, untouched.

o_oliviarose_o's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0