Winner of FC2’s American Book Review/Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Prize A monogrammed cube appears in your town. Your landlord cheats you ...
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Jan 03, 2011
Jasmine
rated it: 
first book of 2011!
This book suffers from a common problem of second books read. It isn't as good as the first book.
If this book had been written by nick hornby it would have been 4 stars, if it had been debut collection it would have been a high 4 stars perhaps a low five. But compared to Gray's other book this one just wasn't quite as enjoyable for me it's definitely like a 3.4 comparatively. On some level this is unfair, I'm expecting a level of perfection or an approach More...
This book suffers from a common problem of second books read. It isn't as good as the first book.
If this book had been written by nick hornby it would have been 4 stars, if it had been debut collection it would have been a high 4 stars perhaps a low five. But compared to Gray's other book this one just wasn't quite as enjoyable for me it's definitely like a 3.4 comparatively. On some level this is unfair, I'm expecting a level of perfection or an approach More...
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Nov 17, 2011
Melissa
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In Calliope, a story in Neil Gaiman's Dream Country, Dream dicovers that the muse Calliope, his former lover and mother of his son, has been imprisoned and brutalized by a writer, Richard Madoc. When he insists that Richard free her and his lame excuse is that he can't yet because he needs the ideas, Dream scoffs, "You want ideas? You want dreams? Here they are." Cue Richard several hours later, scratching his hands bloody on the wall, trying desperately to write down the immense flood
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Dec 17, 2011
Brian
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I read Amelia Gray's Museum of the Weird in about 5 hours. It was a collection of short stories about things that don't really happen, but I'm not sure if that makes them weird. What was weird was her obsession with food. Here is a partial list of things eaten:
pieces of chocolate
human tongue
toes
fish sticks
hair
tomato-cream bisque
prickly pears
packet of sunflower seeds
cottage cheese
banana bread
hair (again)
even more hair
lemon bars
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pieces of chocolate
human tongue
toes
fish sticks
hair
tomato-cream bisque
prickly pears
packet of sunflower seeds
cottage cheese
banana bread
hair (again)
even more hair
lemon bars
More...
Nov 28, 2011
Anita
rated it: 
There isn’t a bad story in this collection, and my innate hypergraphia is taking a nap at the moment, so I will just focus on the best of the bunch.
Let’s begin with “Waste.” This was one of those stories that, as I read it, made me feel like I was going a little insane. It’s a strange piece that I found compelling despite the fact that I find eating pig horrifying. Perhaps I liked the story because Gray’s characters explore the whole, “when does it stop being pig and become pork.” A ma More...
Let’s begin with “Waste.” This was one of those stories that, as I read it, made me feel like I was going a little insane. It’s a strange piece that I found compelling despite the fact that I find eating pig horrifying. Perhaps I liked the story because Gray’s characters explore the whole, “when does it stop being pig and become pork.” A ma More...
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Jul 30, 2011
Sam
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This review was first written for Stereo Subversion. You can find the original post here: http://stereosubversion.com/reviews/amel...
Every so often, as I read through the stories in Amelia Gray’s Museum of the Weird, I flipped the book closed and stared at the photo of the author on the back cover. She sits with a half-smile on her face in a white, long-sleeved button-down, her left arm resting casually on a table or something conveniently table-sized that sits just out of the picture. More...
Every so often, as I read through the stories in Amelia Gray’s Museum of the Weird, I flipped the book closed and stared at the photo of the author on the back cover. She sits with a half-smile on her face in a white, long-sleeved button-down, her left arm resting casually on a table or something conveniently table-sized that sits just out of the picture. More...
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Sep 14, 2010
gene
rated it:
wow. burned through this one. i'll be honest, there were two shorter pieces where i thought, that's clever but the conceits felt more weighty than the actual stories. HOWEVER, that's two out of twenty-four. that's way better odds than most story collections with their filler patties.
and no, if you're guessing, it's not the cottage cheese one. that one killed me. as did almost every story in here. amelia has this deft, careful hand where the craft (people cringe at this word, but c' More...
and no, if you're guessing, it's not the cottage cheese one. that one killed me. as did almost every story in here. amelia has this deft, careful hand where the craft (people cringe at this word, but c' More...
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Mar 01, 2011
David
rated it:
I am ecstatic to see that all the exciting writing out there isn't just the province of overseas authors, that Americans are still in the mix and still doing exciting things. I adored this collection. Gray is definitely unique as a writer, but in her own way her writing shares some of the elements that most fascinate me about authors like Keret and Murakami. This collection is marvelously strange, turning the world on its head and finding wonders in places too familiar to ordinarily look. In
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Oct 25, 2010
Jesus
rated it:
AMELIA GRAY & LINDSAY HUNTER ON THE BIG UGLY (first published 10/25/10 on Vol. 1 Brooklyn)
Say we’re trapped in a heart-shaped box where meanness, ignorance, dementia and brutality make up the walls around us. There’s no way out, no chance for escape. Even if we manage somehow to move through the world, this box defines our every thought and action, the smear from its walls an indelible imprint, soaked into the marrow of our bones. We pass it on to our children, our partners, everyone w More...
Say we’re trapped in a heart-shaped box where meanness, ignorance, dementia and brutality make up the walls around us. There’s no way out, no chance for escape. Even if we manage somehow to move through the world, this box defines our every thought and action, the smear from its walls an indelible imprint, soaked into the marrow of our bones. We pass it on to our children, our partners, everyone w More...
Oct 05, 2010
Rupert
rated it: 
It's going to take me a while to fully digest these extremely well crafted stories, but one thing I'm sure of is that they will last and can hold up next to those of Kafka. Despite the cover, which I like, this collection seemed to hold more powerful darkness than AM/PM, which felt more lyrical and whimsical (though there was still a lot of great lighter shades of darkness). I now have to buy a second copy because I had to pass my first one on to my niece to spread the gospel of Gray.
Feb 07, 2011
Kate
rated it:
I like Amelia Gray and I like weird stories, but this one just didn't deliver the panache I was looking for and had come to expect after reading AM/PM.
The stories that I liked which made this collection of short stories worth reading were:
1. Babies
2. Fish
3. There Will Be Sense
The things that all these stories had that made them more enjoyable than the rest of the collection was that they weren't weird for the sake of weirdness. They had a point an More...
The stories that I liked which made this collection of short stories worth reading were:
1. Babies
2. Fish
3. There Will Be Sense
The things that all these stories had that made them more enjoyable than the rest of the collection was that they weren't weird for the sake of weirdness. They had a point an More...
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Feb 12, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
I picked this up at my local library's "just in" shelf. The back cover's notes intrigued me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed this unexpected little treasure.
It's the kind of book that makes me want to meet the author--how does this brain function in real life?
It's the kind of book that makes me want to meet the author--how does this brain function in real life?
Nov 18, 2010
Stacey
rated it:
An unfortunate byproduct of being a writer is that stories lose that miracle-quality, that lovely mystery of how they do what they do. I can still love a short story, but I can also clinically pinpoint the pieces that construct that love. Except sometimes, very rarely, I can feel that story magic. I did in spades when reading Museum of the Weird. Most of these pieces are very short and many are very strange (in the best sort of way). I would reach their ends and find myself adoring them wit More...
Jul 10, 2011
Laura
rated it:
Short stories are incredibly hard to write well. These are written well. And strange. So strange. But not for the sake of being so, which makes them all the more enjoyable to read.
Nov 22, 2010
Matt
rated it:
This makes me believe magic and fist fighting others invisible friends is not only possible but a human destiny. After the brawl we will have some rose-hip tea together.
Dec 05, 2010
Alyssa
rated it:
Not as in love with it as I was with her first book, AM/PM. Definitely weird. Favorite stories: "The Vanished", "This Quiet Complex", and "Trip Advisory: The Boyhood Home of Former President Ronald Reagan".
Jan 30, 2012
Ryan
rated it:
A very absurd collection of stories which, on the whole, is very good. There were times, however, that Gray presents the weird with so much nonchalance that it feels like an inside joke that we're not always in on. Kinda like watching an improv group perform comedy too conceptual to be really funny.
I'm always a fan of cannibalism, so "Waste" was my favorite. "Diary of a Blockage" was also really great.
I'm always a fan of cannibalism, so "Waste" was my favorite. "Diary of a Blockage" was also really great.
Nov 24, 2010
Niki
rated it:
This book is so much fun. I relished each story, and was pleasantly surprised at how indepth the stories were, as well as thought provoking. The stories are quirky, funny, and definitely weird. I really like weird. I highly recommend Museum of the Weird.
Aug 24, 2011
Mac
rated it:
This is an interesting book - the short-short stories are all very inventive and clever, many of them hilarious, but something about them seems clipped off just before they're about to bloom. Too many times I found a big chunk of white space at the bottom of the facing page, letting me know that the story doesn't have time to do what it might have otherwise done.
That, and the eating. So much stuff about food - my wife is right to suggest that Ms. Gray may well be working through More...
That, and the eating. So much stuff about food - my wife is right to suggest that Ms. Gray may well be working through More...
Jun 08, 2011
Adam
rated it:
A charming series of short stories based around strange and wonderful objects. A nice weird little read.
Nov 25, 2010
Patricia
rated it:
strange assortment of sentient beings living on the planet showing up in strange situations.
Oct 20, 2010
Amber
rated it:
The book title does not lie. This story collection runs the gamut of weird, but in a good way. The story about the penguin and the armadillo drinking at the bar makes me want to start a short story anthology that revolves around animals acting like humans (there's a term for that, isn't there? I've forgotten what it is). So far, I want to include Amelia's story and "Tim, the Immortal Giraffe: True Story" from issue 47 of American Short Fiction.
Sep 14, 2011
Joe
rated it:
A rather odd selection of storied, though not un-enjoyable. There are some definite gems in here.
Sep 23, 2010
Ben
rated it:
A collection of stories where men marry paring knives, wild javelinas attempt to defuse hostage situations, women consume their own hair during times of stress and the tortoise visits the hare as he recuperates in the hospital, a collection full of weirdness and richness and flights of imagination, that still kept returning to a theme as classic as any, how do we connect, or more accurately, how do damaged people make connections with one another, and ultimately themselves, how does this work, c
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Jan 24, 2012
Tanya
rated it:
Twisted, dark, and quirky. These stories were often gross and always haunting, but all kind of adorably. If that makes sense. Looking forward to what else lives in Amelia Gray's brain.
Jan 10, 2011
Cortney
rated it: 
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway!! THANKS!! Can't wait to check it out!
This book started out interesting...and WEIRD like the title says. I liked that there were short stories, so this book was great to read with other books! I'm only giving it two stars because the majority of the short stories were not interesting to me other than the fact that they were weird and made you wonder how the Author came up with such bizarre characters.
This book started out interesting...and WEIRD like the title says. I liked that there were short stories, so this book was great to read with other books! I'm only giving it two stars because the majority of the short stories were not interesting to me other than the fact that they were weird and made you wonder how the Author came up with such bizarre characters.
