A review by chillcox15
The Doll's Alphabet by Camilla Grudova

4.0

This is a real up-and-down, but ultimately winning, collection of short stories by a writer I can't wait to read again. Grudova shows an excellent command of the certain type of magical-realist palette that she works with; some of the best stories here, such as 'The Agata Machine' and 'Hungarian Sprats' can flip that palette over and show you all the dimensions of her writing. There are a few stories, however, that are a little too pat to completely work (I'm also just not a huuge fan of this type of pomo fabulist stuff most of the time). I would look at a story like 'Waxy' to illustrate both the strengths and weaknesses of Grudova at this point in her career. In 'Waxy,' Grudova presents a well-developed rendering of an Atwoodian feminist dystopian world in which women labor in service of men, who are constantly taking 'exams,' and not working or contributing to society in a meaningful way. While this world is indeed interesting, the story itself feels like the precis of a larger narrative; there's just not a lot going on outside of the actual setting-up of the set-up. In that way, I'm almost more excited to read a novel from Grudova than another collection of stories. All in all, there's a lot of talent and good ideas at work here.