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A review by sixdaysago
Little Kingdoms by Steven Millhauser
3.0
Millhauser's collection of three novellas was of varying interest and quality. The first story, The Little Kingdom of J. Franklin Payne was the clear standout; emotionally engaging and an imaginative look at both the concept of art as an extension of its creator as well as early animated cinema. The next two novellas, though, were significantly less interesting, both felt more like experiments in form rather than solid narratives.
The Princess, the Dwarf, and the Dungeon wasn't of any real interest to me, a play on oral storytelling as history and medieval fairytales that lacked real connection and seemed an overlong genre exercize.
Catalogue of the Exhibition was better than the novella that preceded it, although it only really picked up as it neared its Gothic movement at the end. The listlike reference points for these fictional paintings was tedious and, although it acted to maintain some sense of historical reality, merely drew me away from the narrative.
I am interested in reading his full-length novels, though, purely based on my enjoyment of the Payne story.
The Princess, the Dwarf, and the Dungeon wasn't of any real interest to me, a play on oral storytelling as history and medieval fairytales that lacked real connection and seemed an overlong genre exercize.
Catalogue of the Exhibition was better than the novella that preceded it, although it only really picked up as it neared its Gothic movement at the end. The listlike reference points for these fictional paintings was tedious and, although it acted to maintain some sense of historical reality, merely drew me away from the narrative.
I am interested in reading his full-length novels, though, purely based on my enjoyment of the Payne story.