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A review by magmaticious
The Cleaners by Ken Liu
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.