Scan barcode
A review by nearfutures
Museum of the Weird by Amelia Gray
2.0
More of a 2.5 than a 2, but not the kind of 2.5 I would round up.
Not an unenjoyable collection of short fiction per say, but for every story that resonated one or two that missed the boat. "Thoughts While Strolling" and "Fish" were wonderful; a lot of the others weren't. Some of the stories like "A Javelina Story" and "Code of Operation: Snake Farm" were enjoyable but for their humor rather than depth. Many of the stories gesture at compelling themes (relationship to the body, food, or both, deviance, perception) but aren't fully realized. Gray also overuses shock value mutilation/violence in a way that's sort of reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk's later works: by the third story where someone is doing something gross with food, it felt like a smoke screen for substance. If I'd read the stories individually I likely wouldn't have the latter complaint.
The creative writing instructor who recommended Gray to me said her later work "shows a lot of growth," so I'm interested in picking up her more recent collection.
Not an unenjoyable collection of short fiction per say, but for every story that resonated one or two that missed the boat. "Thoughts While Strolling" and "Fish" were wonderful; a lot of the others weren't. Some of the stories like "A Javelina Story" and "Code of Operation: Snake Farm" were enjoyable but for their humor rather than depth. Many of the stories gesture at compelling themes (relationship to the body, food, or both, deviance, perception) but aren't fully realized. Gray also overuses shock value mutilation/violence in a way that's sort of reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk's later works: by the third story where someone is doing something gross with food, it felt like a smoke screen for substance. If I'd read the stories individually I likely wouldn't have the latter complaint.
The creative writing instructor who recommended Gray to me said her later work "shows a lot of growth," so I'm interested in picking up her more recent collection.