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A Window or a Small Box
"A Window or a Small Box," by Jedediah Berry, is a charming and weird contemporary novelette of magic realism about a couple about to get married who find themselves on the run from "goons" in an alternative United States.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2013
4 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
Jedediah Berry
22 books298 followersJedediah Berry is the author of two novels, The Naming Song (Tor Books, 2024) and The Manual of Detection (Penguin Press), and a story in cards, The Family Arcana. He lives in Western Massachusetts. Together with his partner, writer Emily Houk, he runs Ninepin Press, an independent publisher of fiction, poetry, and games in unusual shapes.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 28, 2020
What they wanted was to get home in time for the wedding—their wedding. They held hands as often as they could. They got used to not getting used to things. They knew that his name was Jim and that her name was Laura, and sometimes that was all they needed
i'm not sure if this is magical realism, as advertised, or the exact opposite of magical realism, where the biggest chunk is surreal and the recognizable, realistic elements are the invading species. i recently read A House at the Bottom of a Lake, and this is a similarly odd blend of (verylight) horror and romance and adventure, which is not a genre-blend i've come across frequently, monsterporn aside. i liked this one more than house/lake because i felt both the menace and the dislocation more in this one and i enjoyed the overall "whaaaaaat?" vibe on the discovery-trail. the denouement isn't as grand or as punchy as i'd hoped, but it ends well, in a nice exhausted melancholy that matches my overall mood these days.
i'm glad i have 2018-resolved to write mini-reviews of these weekly free tor shorts on the day i read them, because otherwise i'm not sure i would remember this one well enough to say anything at all, which is the problem i'm having with many of the shorts on my "review pending" shelf. it was a nice cozy saturday-morning read that would adapt well into graphic novel form.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2013/06/05/a-wind...
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May 14, 2015
Don't believe the product description. This isn't 'magic realism.' But it is a light, dream-like adventure that falls somewhere between surrealist or absurdist fiction.
Think of it as PG-13 bizarro.
Think of it as PG-13 bizarro.
July 22, 2014
An engaged couple find themselves in a strange and alien world, where nothing is quite as expected. They just want to find their way back home before the impending date of their wedding. After all, the tents are already rented, and the place settings planned... The story works as a metaphor for developing maturity and finding one's place in the world/settling for reality. The surreal style didn't quite win me over, though.
June 5, 2013
Read this for free here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/06/a-...
Loved this surreal trip of an engaged couple trying to return home. It's a quick read, so just go read it.
Now to track down Jedediah Berry's other works
Loved this surreal trip of an engaged couple trying to return home. It's a quick read, so just go read it.
Now to track down Jedediah Berry's other works
August 12, 2025
A young couple find themselves on the run in the days leading up to their wedding in an alternate America.
Berry manages to dial the weirdness up to eleven in this excellent story. Readers may find themselves asking what it was they've just finished reading. It's a journey, not a destination.
Berry manages to dial the weirdness up to eleven in this excellent story. Readers may find themselves asking what it was they've just finished reading. It's a journey, not a destination.
March 30, 2014
This story kept my interest with its creativity, and is well written, but I just find surrealist writing like this uncomfortable when it is one surreal event/surprise after another.
March 23, 2023
I really enjoy Jedediah Berry’s work and this was fun, I just wish it had been a little bit longer and more substantial.
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May 23, 2023https://www.tor.com/2013/06/05/a-wind...
Fum but a bit too surreal to call it magical realism though.
Fum but a bit too surreal to call it magical realism though.
May 30, 2014
I loved The Manual of Detection, and while this story included some similar moments of charm and clever writing, in sum it's not as strong as Berry's longer work. The short story does a good job of layering tensions, creating an atmosphere of anxiety between the couple and the bizarre world(s) they have stumbled into, as well as between Jim and Laura themselves. The story raises questions about how the couple ended up where they are, why Jim is famous, why Laura is the target of the blond pinstriped suit, and more, but, as is to be expected for an exercise in surrealism, answers are not forthcoming. The ending of the story does seem to try and set up a story of sorts, introducing an antagonist who was responsible for at least some of the things the couple went through, but switching gears from the nebulous tension of being stranded in a strange world and the equally nebulous tension of an impending marriage to a more concrete tension involving a man and a sentient doll seemed to be a misstep. I'm sure Gray represented some challenge a relationship faces, just as I'm sure some of the other things in the story are symbols, but I would rather have seen the story either go all-in with the surrealism or to have a coherent plot. Instead A Window or a Small Box unfortunately seems to split the baby (don't worry though, there are plenty of extra babies lying around).
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April 18, 2020I don't know what to say. It possesses the logic of a loon-&-tick!
It is mad, utter madness--though not necessarily badness. Causally confusing. So surreal. Basically, bizarre. Abandon cause-and-effect, all youses who crosseth over. The plot moves along in fits via dream logic, with no solidity to it, like reading air or a child playing make-believe.
It was a frustrating experience, reading this, but I persevered only because of a hope for some clarity. Plus, I read it late at night and there was something sinister-seeming so--no, there is no "so," is there?, causality does not exist here--I kept reading, nerves frayed and afraid to stop.
Feels like a some sort of trap, but why? I don't know what it means and trying to make east or west of the context only left me more unmoored (it literally rendered me unable to solve a sudoku puzzle; I kept seeing the boxes turn into turtle shells). This is how fish must feel, upon encountering a baited hook.
I feel as if it possesses an ambition too large to be condemned for mere bankruptcy of "coherence" or "order."
About the lack of stars: it shouldn't have any; that would impose too much sense upon it and I would be a fool to try and infer anything from it.
Avoid: memetic hazard. ... ¿ ... Yes¡ Avoid? I'm sure as muffins of it.
It is mad, utter madness--though not necessarily badness. Causally confusing. So surreal. Basically, bizarre. Abandon cause-and-effect, all youses who crosseth over. The plot moves along in fits via dream logic, with no solidity to it, like reading air or a child playing make-believe.
It was a frustrating experience, reading this, but I persevered only because of a hope for some clarity. Plus, I read it late at night and there was something sinister-seeming so--no, there is no "so," is there?, causality does not exist here--I kept reading, nerves frayed and afraid to stop.
Feels like a some sort of trap, but why? I don't know what it means and trying to make east or west of the context only left me more unmoored (it literally rendered me unable to solve a sudoku puzzle; I kept seeing the boxes turn into turtle shells). This is how fish must feel, upon encountering a baited hook.
I feel as if it possesses an ambition too large to be condemned for mere bankruptcy of "coherence" or "order."
About the lack of stars: it shouldn't have any; that would impose too much sense upon it and I would be a fool to try and infer anything from it.
Avoid: memetic hazard. ... ¿ ... Yes¡ Avoid? I'm sure as muffins of it.
August 26, 2013
Jedediah Berry is just wonderful, and this short story is just another reminder of why I love reading so much. This creepy, immerse, noir-fantasy kept me feeling like I was inside of a waking dream the whole time. You know just about as much as what's going on as the characters do, which is definitely part of the charm, and it's just the write length to keep you engaged from start to finish.
I'll eagerly await Mr. Berry's next piece of work!
I'll eagerly await Mr. Berry's next piece of work!
April 18, 2016
That was... very surreal. Our two protags get lost one day and end up seemingly skipping through alternative worlds being chased by someone. Nothing is terribly different, but different enough to be unnerving. But they get a happy ending, even if they don't go home. At least I think? They make their own happy ending! Sorta. This was a strange story. Quite enjoyable though!
September 3, 2024
Li aqui, marquei lido aqui: Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2013.
June 7, 2013
Funky and weirdly cool. Oh, and wildly imaginative. In fact, I'm still digesting some of the happenings. Because, yeah...
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
September 2, 2015
It felt very dream like and surreal but I didn't enjoyed it that much. I mean, I understood the characters and how they must been afraid of the big step they were taking but it was way to much nonsensical for my taste and the ending seemed abrupt.
April 6, 2016
Light if a little self consciously 'magical'. The potential trap of surrealist fiction kicks in occasionally with one 'impossible' image after another, which can get a little distancing when it's not entertaining. Charming enough though.
February 14, 2015
Another Tor.com short story.
Ummm, well this one was nicely surreal.
I really only understood part of the allegory, hopeful I will get more understanding with age.
Ummm, well this one was nicely surreal.
I really only understood part of the allegory, hopeful I will get more understanding with age.
July 23, 2013
Didn't get it.
March 12, 2014
SPOILER ALERT
I think this is a tale of cold feet told about a couple right before their wedding. They get their"happy ending" but in a very no traditional fashion. Odd and fun at the same time.
I think this is a tale of cold feet told about a couple right before their wedding. They get their"happy ending" but in a very no traditional fashion. Odd and fun at the same time.
September 9, 2016
A wild run through a surrealism, and a parable of what it is to be in a relationship, to enter into life-long commitment in an uncertain world. In our world.
May 5, 2015
Ha! This book is strange! Lovable, but strange. Its short though so read it.
October 2, 2015
Oh, wow. Wow.
August 11, 2016
Surreal short story.
October 16, 2016
Hard to follow, and unpleasant to read.
November 29, 2013
A strange and surreal tale. I'm not sure I get it.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews