A review by jenibus
The Miniature Wife and Other Stories by Manuel Gonzales

2.0

Man I just.... did not feel this book at all. Reading brief descriptions of the short stories this collection seemed absolutely perfect for me. A man who accidentally shrinks his wife and has to keep his war with her hidden from everyone else? A plane that flies in circles around Dallas for 20 years? A couple who have to isolate themselves from the world because sounds cause them physical harm? ALL OF THESE STORIES SOUND GREAT. Unfortunately, although the author was excellent at coming up with strange and interesting concepts to base his short stories on, they were not developed much beyond that. I understand that in the format of short story we don't have a lot of time get as in depth as we do with a novella or novel, but quite frequently the story would be nothing more than just explaining that a concept exists without any context or further investigation.

Full disclosure, I stopped reading after the ninth story in this collection. Of the nine I read, I only really liked one of the short stories, the titled Miniature Wife. Every other story seemed to rely heavily on telling rather than showing. There would be a lot of stating the bare facts of what's happening, which frustrated me to no end. Maybe I had too high of expectations with my love of all things weird and creepy, but I needed more substance than what was ultimately given. I'm sorry, book, but I really did not enjoy my time with you.