Reviews

Fugue State by Brian Evenson

oneironaut's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

definitely feel like i enjoy where evenson's writing is at now in the 2010s/2020s more than older work, but it was fun nonetheless.

stories i liked:

• mudder tongue
• an accounting
• wander
• alfons kuylers
• fugue state

bhirts's review

4.0

I liked this book/really liked a few of the stories in this book. I liked how the book would go from something like "Girls in Tents" (a story about two girls who make blanket tents and wait for their father ultimately learning a little something about life) to "Wander" (a story set in a post-apocalyptic world about an eyeball monster who melts flesh). Brian Evenson is a legitimately versatile writer who is able to morph his style to fit the plethora of moods and vibes in this bitch. My favorite stories were "Younger", "An Accounting", "Desire with Digressions", "Girls in Tents", "Wander", "The Third Factor", "Helpful", "Alfons Kuylers", "Fugue State", and "The Adjudicator". I liked most if not all of the stories in this book.

lochnessvhs's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Normally I'm not a big short story collection girly. I get heavily invested in characters and it's difficult for me when I only have 5-30 pages with them.

But this collection is goddamn brilliant. I didn't "put it together", so to speak, until the very final story but consider my mind blown.

My favorite stories in the collection are the epynonomous story, Mudder Tongue (heartbreaking), In the Greenhouse, and The Third Factor.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, Death, Gore, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

spestock's review

4.0

A solid, well-written collection of short stories. I like when collections seem to revolve around a unifying theme, in this case, perception and how - or if - it corresponds to reality.

oedipa_maas's review

3.0

Some good ones in this collection and others felt sort of like the author poked around in his scraps folder for filler. The title story and "Ninety over Ninety" were the highlights. After just reading Evenson's book Last Days I can see he favors certain motifs and themes like post-apocalyptic messiahs and amputations. So if you're down for some mild pseudo-Borgesian/Palahniukian spookiness, give this collection a shot. It's weird and sometimes philosophical, but not to any remarkable extreme.

calling_sister_midnight's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

deathtomartyrs's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

smb04's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

simplyb's review

3.0

This book was fine. The writing overall was good, but the quality of the stories was variable and sometimes a little predictable. But they were fun stories and provided a little pathos, humor, and spookiness for some light reading. I would certainly recommend this book, but nothing groundbreaking, just good, solid reading.

jeffhall's review

4.0

I've been a fan of Brian Evenson's fiction for several years now, and as much as I thoroughly enjoyed his earlier collections of short stories, Fugue State strikes me as being the single best assembly of his output to date. Evenson has always trafficked in themes dark, morbid, and surreal, and all of those elements are present in these new stories. But there is a softening in the contents of Fugue State that allows these stories to rely less on shock value and more on character development, albeit within the constraints of the short story form. There is a strong sense of isolation and self-reliance shared by these various narrators that allows the protagonists to take the spotlight away from the extreme, and sometimes a bit cliched, circumstances that they find themselves in. Being along for the ride as a writer as talented as Evenson breaks new ground in this way makes for a thrilling reading experience.