The fertile imagination and incredible writing skill of Saunders never fails to amaze me. Both of those skills were used in writing these stories. And yet. And yet, I came away mostly saddened by the worlds he envisions. I had to force myself to finish.
3.5 This took some time for me to read. I realized how much I don’t like being dropped into a context where I’m struggling to grasp what’s going on, but I came to appreciate that by the end. The creativity it takes to build so much of a world and showcase it (without actually explaining any of it) through so few pages is so impressive. And there are so many worlds within this short book yet they all feel so connected by the end. It put me to work but some really lovely moments, especially at the end of Ghoul and My House.