Nineteen writers dig into the imaginative spaces between conventional genres—realistic and fantastical, scholarly and poetic, personal and po...
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reviews
Dec 21, 2011
Shara (Calico Reaction)
rated it: 
What is interstitial fiction? This short story anthology does its best to find out. From the intro, which defines interstitial being between borders, but something that's not a hybrid, to each of the 19 stories crafted by some damn talented voices in fiction, I have to say, I learned a lot. Interstitial writing isn't just about genre, or only about genre. In some stories, interstitality had to do with place, or with character, or with a particular moment in life. This book is shelved in the SF/F
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May 29, 2009
Alan
rated it: 
I enjoyed the tales in this anthology. I was especially impressed by the final story, Catherynne M. Valente's "A Dirge for Prester John" (in which the shipwrecked title character really does meet the creatures so fancifully described back in 1165 C.E.), as well as the entry from Anne Tambour ("The Shoe in SHOES' Window," a dispatch from a not-so-glorious but certainly resourceful Workers' Paradise) and Rachel Pollack's tale of the Old Testament prophet Joseph ("Burning B
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Jan 31, 2010
Lettie
rated it: 
My utter favorite was Csilla Kleinheincz's "A Drop of Raspberry" because of the language (although it's a translation from the Hungarian) and imagery. "A Map of Everywhere" by Matthew Cheney also stood out in its quirkiness. Catherynne M. Valente's "A Dirge for Prester John" and Mikal Trimm's "Climbing Redemption Mountain" must also be mentioned. Overall, the anthology worked for me, as a collection of "interstitial" works. I attend science f
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May 21, 2009
Catherine
rated it:
These were mostly very interesting and good. I skimmed about 3, but eagerly devoured the rest, and thought Kafka would be proud.
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Feb 02, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
It's difficult to summarize or categorize this anthology, and I think that's one of the many things I enjoyed about it.
Apr 05, 2008
meeners
rated it:
what a powerful collection! what i loved most about reading it was the reading experience itself: disorientation, surprise, anticipation, delay. these stories hit you, hard and ferocious; they linger.
one thing i would have liked to see more of: engagement with / questioning of narrative convention and the written word itself. more breaking down of form, as in allen's piece; less single-voiced narrators, less confidence in stylistic unity.
most memorable stories for me More...
one thing i would have liked to see more of: engagement with / questioning of narrative convention and the written word itself. more breaking down of form, as in allen's piece; less single-voiced narrators, less confidence in stylistic unity.
most memorable stories for me More...
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Jan 30, 2009
H.N.
rated it:
While I'm still (after two readings) not sure I understand the introductory essay, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories. Several were lovely and weird and thought-provoking, which is just what I like in a story. Notable winners were Catherynne M. Valente's "A Dirge for Prester John", Vandana Singh's "Hunger", and Joy Marchand's "Pallas at Noon". Having said that, though, I just looked over the table of contents again and realized that most of the stories affected me
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Jan 27, 2008
Don
rated it:
I wish I could do half-stars on here, but I couldn't see my way to rounding up to give this one four. There were quite a few gems in this collection which absolutely fulfills its purpose of exploring the space between conventional genres. And it had me right up until about the last third of the book. I simply got lost out in the interstices by then. It's quite possibly more my failure than that of the collection, but still.
Jul 27, 2008
Michael
rated it:
A star less than _Feeling Very Strange_, the first slipstream anthology I read. Same quasi-genre, same stories, different terminology. The cover blurb and the introduction are both VERY PRETENTIOUS (the Interstitial Arts Foundation? really? five'll get you ten all of these literary foundations are run out of someone's basement office) but if you can put aside the pretension the stories are for the most part pretty good.
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Dec 17, 2007
Rupert
rated it:
There are some really good stories in here, but the context of the book is slightly amusing. There have always been plenty writers writing free of genre restrictions (Borges or Cervantes for instance), but they weren't necessarily part of a group. I have ambivalent feelings about this book trying to establish a genre of non-genre writing.
But it's a good solid collection, although not the most adventurous.
But it's a good solid collection, although not the most adventurous.
Dec 17, 2009
Denice
rated it:
AMAZING. Seriously, this is probably the best collection of short stories I've read since Alice Walker's "in love and trouble". The concept of interstitial writing doesn't feel "new" as much as it is really about giving definition to what more and more writers are doing as they cross genres, defy "rules" of story telling and venture into to new territories. I love this book. love it. please read it.
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Oct 11, 2007
I have thus far disliked all but one of the stories I have read in this book. For instance I don't think the story "Timothy" deserves to see the light of day, let alone be included in an anthology of purportedly imaginative writing. Still, I'm keeping an open mind, since I have only read a handful of stories.
Dec 11, 2008
Suzanna
rated it: 
I may have expected too much of this anthology. There were a few good stories here, but a lot more that I just ended up skimming. There is a fine line between surreality in fiction and a story that is just scattered.
Aug 26, 2009
Bridgett
rated it:
I liked all the stories, though a few were confusing. I liked the variety of culture. My two favorites were "Black Feather" and "Rats" because I love fairy tales.
Dec 17, 2009
I borrowed it to read "Rats," a short story by Veronica Schanoes, as she is one of my all-time favourite professors. Her story was disturbing and excellent!
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