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A review by woodsybookworm
Beautiful Days: Stories by Zach Williams
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror had a love child and it was this book.
Short stories collections are usually hit or miss for me, either there's a lot of good stories or mostly meh stories and very few that fall in between those extremes.
The first story, "Trial Run" actually almost turned me away entirely as it immediately made me think 'oh no this is going to be super political' which I try to steer clear of in my reading because I read to disassociate from the world, not to use my self care time reminding myself of the current political climate. But then I got to the next story "Wood Sorrel House" and I was HOOKED!
It felt like it was an ode to the Twilight Zone, very much in the vein of "It's A Good Life" (if you know you know). Wood Sorrel House follows a couple and their child as they vacation at a cabin in the woods. But as the vacation goes on the couple start to question things like why is there no road to the cabin, no car, how did they get there, why does the food constantly replenish itself but there's no one else around? It was just plain freaky, especially for someone like me who happens to live in a cabin in the woods.
If that peaks your interest then the rest of the stories are just as captivating. Definitely looking forward to more from this author!
Short stories collections are usually hit or miss for me, either there's a lot of good stories or mostly meh stories and very few that fall in between those extremes.
The first story, "Trial Run" actually almost turned me away entirely as it immediately made me think 'oh no this is going to be super political' which I try to steer clear of in my reading because I read to disassociate from the world, not to use my self care time reminding myself of the current political climate. But then I got to the next story "Wood Sorrel House" and I was HOOKED!
It felt like it was an ode to the Twilight Zone, very much in the vein of "It's A Good Life" (if you know you know). Wood Sorrel House follows a couple and their child as they vacation at a cabin in the woods. But as the vacation goes on the couple start to question things like why is there no road to the cabin, no car, how did they get there, why does the food constantly replenish itself but there's no one else around? It was just plain freaky, especially for someone like me who happens to live in a cabin in the woods.
If that peaks your interest then the rest of the stories are just as captivating. Definitely looking forward to more from this author!