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A review by gemmak
McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories by Michael Chabon
3.0
McSweeney's exploration of pulp fiction is definitely clever and at times utterly surprising and delightful. All of these smart and wonderful authors got together to have a little fun with genre fiction, to perhaps make the point that putting "genre" in front of the word "fiction" is always a little reductive. At least, that's the point Michael Chabon makes in his unbearably condescending introduction. But tone aside, it's a good point.
Except...not all of these stories live up it. Some really do get mired in cheap twists and grinding plot mechanics. Particular offenders are "The Minaturist" by Heidi Julavits and "The Child" by Roddy Doyle. While both pack a Twilight Zone punch, neither innovate on the form.
The big name authors here, like Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, and Stephen King, write good stories that sound just like themselves.
There are a couple of fantastic pieces, like Daniel Handler's "Delmonico", Jonathan Lethem's "Vivian Relf", and China Mieville's "Reports of Certain Events in London". But you should read this collection just so you can get to Jason Roberts' haunting, elegiac "7C". It is a brilliant piece of writing driven by a smart concept that stays true to the roots of pulp while drawing much larger questions to the surface.
Except...not all of these stories live up it. Some really do get mired in cheap twists and grinding plot mechanics. Particular offenders are "The Minaturist" by Heidi Julavits and "The Child" by Roddy Doyle. While both pack a Twilight Zone punch, neither innovate on the form.
The big name authors here, like Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, and Stephen King, write good stories that sound just like themselves.
There are a couple of fantastic pieces, like Daniel Handler's "Delmonico", Jonathan Lethem's "Vivian Relf", and China Mieville's "Reports of Certain Events in London". But you should read this collection just so you can get to Jason Roberts' haunting, elegiac "7C". It is a brilliant piece of writing driven by a smart concept that stays true to the roots of pulp while drawing much larger questions to the surface.