A review by jwmcoaching
American Innovations by Rivka Galchen

3.0

Not your conventional short stories, American Innovations is full of tales that include magical realism, everyday life, and the outright absurd. Galchen is an incredible writer and knows how to write a sentence like nobody's business. Her plots are a little lacking at times, but frequently, the plot doesn't really seem to be the point. Standouts here include "The Lost Order", "Wild Berry Blue", "Dean of the Arts" and "Once an Empire". Her protagonists are always female and frequently seem lost and/or bewildered, but on the verge of something momentous at the same time. These stories are to be enjoyed one at a time and not rushed through, as they seem to contain unique worlds that are like our own, but slightly off kilter. Consequently, it takes a little time and adjustment to not only enter them, but exit them as well.