Minor Illusions

by Daryl Li

A rejected manuscript forces a writer to confront the possibility that a doppelganger has stolen his identity. Achilles contemplates his immortal life, edging ever closer to cruelty. Three strangers gathered at an apartment block in Singapore trade personal ghost stories. Swirling on the edge of madness, a resurrection ritual takes place on a story night. Traversing the fantastical, absurd, and grotesque, the stories of Minor Illusions explore themes of grief, memory, and human relationships as they test the limits of our tropes, archetypes, and codes of narration.

Genres: Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Adult

290 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2025

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy.

I’m going to start this review with saying I don’t feel like I’m cut out to read literature such as this. I love a good short story but when things are flowery and not written in plain English I get a little confused. Yes, I minored in literature in college, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve become less patient and less willing to decipher work in which I do not immediately understand.

I just do not think this book is for me in particular, but I’m sure others with a taste for the genre will enjoy it.

[lauren]

calling it quits on this for now… i am sorry to betray the singlit agenda but this book was just really convoluted and meandering and neither in a fun interesting way. i’ve been trying to talk myself into finishing this before the year ends but i think there are other books i would rather read. interesting premise!! but i think not so much in execution unfortunately. hopefully someday i will return to this, but likely not anytime soon.

[Tahera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I didn't read all the stories in this collection, I think I read enough to somehow gather what the author was trying to say by exploring themes of immortality, identity and memory (or loss of both).

I received a digital ARC of the book from the author and publisher Querencia Press via NetGalley.

[Chelsea]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

DNF @ 25%.

This is a book that feels, more than anything else, like it is Trying Too Hard. There is this sense of straining to be Great Writing and just getting wrapped up in being overly contrived instead. The fake academic articles and museum listing were particularly agonizing to read; real academic writing is painful enough (I work in academia, why must we be this way?) and we don't need to duplicate it in fiction. I did keep going after those for a while, hoping they were a blip, but they weren't, and a couple of the stories in the first part had the same vibe, so I'm giving up.

[Carlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The themes in Minor Illusions are tightly woven. The book is separated into sections, with three to five short stories bundled together under one-word banners. The most successful of these for me was Fictions, particularly "A Secret Literature" and "The Tain". "The Tain" is itself split into multiple parts, and the collapsing of the writing back into the central question, the way lives and art echo, can be dizzying when reading multiple stories through in succession.

Not everything worked for me, Mythologies teed up the rest of the sections, but didn't stand up independently, but what worked Really worked. Particular shout-outs to "Mother," "The Way of the Flesh," and "Genericity of Rejections."

[Kristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minor Illusions is a fantastic and eclectic collection of prose. Li's storytelling pulls from the depths of mythology, folklore, the supernatural and the contemporary world. The balance between the real and the unreal is well done and I enjoyed how the collection itself was structured. The different parts allow the reader to walk through the writer's many faces as Li turns their hand at multiple genres and styles. My personal favourite had to be the opening essay about Achilles - witty, hilarious but also morose and full of ache.

[Giniro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The college cover in the purple to pink with tons of texture! Oh, it's so fun for the eyes and reminds me of lino or print making with the jelly plates. For me, it sets the mood before even getting into the book. I know the saying, but listen.... we all judge the covers anyway.

I need a refresher on some names and references just to make sure i'm reading things correctly. It's part of looking at the long life of an immortal. After that you see us come into the modern world with a bit of commentary of movies. Movie often have to sacrifice proper fighting technique for choreography that looks good on camera.

Anyway, there are a lot of references to history and old stories. The footnotes help but despite the lighthearted cover, it's not an easy beach read. The themes inside demand a bit more brain power to get. I probably didn't 'get' a lot of things in the story since the critical thinking part of my brain needs to be dusted off a bit.

There is a bit of fun with all the different formatting styles found here. A section is written like a script, some is a conversation left and right aligned for each part, others are written just as a normal narrative story.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do the three little pigs, ghosts, and Godzilla all have in common? I have no idea but they all show up in this book. Like most collections of short stories some were thought provoking and interesting, and others I could feel my eyes glazing over. This story collection was intelligent, maybe a little too intelligent. This is probably not for your average reader, but more knowledgeable readers will likely enjoy it. Most of the stories center around being haunted, whether that's physically or mentally, and sometimes without a clear answer as to which. Some of my favorite stories were: The Same Old Story, Dark Matter, and The Fog. Stories that made my eyes glazed over: A Secret Literature and Seven Failures of Peter Lai. Overall I gave this three stars because I have mixed feelings about most of the work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Querencia Press for the eARC in exchange for honest review

[Alexis Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Minor Illusions by Daryl Li is advertised as "intellectual short stories" which I have to say may be the best description for them.

If you are going in looking for some interesting fictional reads, you will be sad because there are only a few that read like a true story. A reimaging of classic tales where the ones I liked the best. However, most of the book is so densely written that it is very hard to get through and feels very much like a textbook. Perhaps someone who reads mainly non fiction would like this collection better than a fiction based reader. The writing style continuously changes which is jarring and I just could not connect.

Thank you to Netgalley and Querencia Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!


Most of my notes for this collection of short stories boil down to the despair life, framed in different situations.

Some stories worked very well, some didn't work for me personally, too repetitive. 

This is not a happy collection to read, but there are are some interesting explorations of what it is to be human, and how we often just go through the motions and how that can be disturbing or dissociative.

I really liked the ghost stories! Altogether a decent read.

[xyZeereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skipped a few stories that seemed nonsensical or try-hard but the ones I didn't skip were engrossing and somewhat thought provoking. And it's always a delight to encounter Singlit in the wild, on NetGalley no less. Enjoyed the macabre stories the most.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

[Abhijeet Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Minor Illusions by Daryl Li is a collection of some "intelligent" short stories. I received an ARC from NetGalley, and here goes my review.

The collection is quite varied, with different styles of writing. But I found myself struggling to connect with most of the stories.

Except for the simple stories in the opening section, Mythologies, others felt more like an exercise. Some stories I skipped entirely, and by the time I reached the 30% mark, I decided to DNF.

The book might be suitable for an intellectual audience. Not as a casual, light read.