You’ve Changed – Pyae Moe Thet War
In this sensitively observed collection, the freedom to define oneself is achieved not only through the rebellion against cultural constraints, but also the embrace of the provisional nature of identity.
Randhawa has a control over language that I rarely encounter. There is a feeling of each word having been specifically selected, purposeful descriptions that alter the way we talk about the things around us.
Made Man becomes an examination and celebration of change writ broadly along with all its magickal implications.
At The Edge of The Woods – Masatsugu Ono
Parenthood lends itself to a narrative that sits on the fuzzy border between natural and supernatural.
Butler thus nimbly opens the seams of the vampire figure to show the ways in which its mythology is already lined with implications about the construction of race, exclusion, and intolerance.
The Books of Jacob – Olga Tokarczuk
The Books of Jacob suggests that, no matter how far apart our various spheres of experience may seem, they are, in fact, talking to each other.
People From My Neighborhood – Hiromi Kawakami
Kawakami draws indiscriminately on the resources of various sub-genres of speculative literature, connecting her stories here and there for unity’s sake, but never straining for consistency as a straight-up fantasy writer might in conjuring a magic “system.”
Nashrallah thoughtfully develops Muna’s erotic imagination, most significantly in her conjuring of Halim, but also in her changing relationship to her own body.
The Great Indoorsman – Andrew Farkas
It’s not culture Farkas is studying so much as the many interiors of the self.
Gentleman Overboard – Herbert Clyde Lewis
Standish bears the specific features of the gentleman — or a parody of it — in all its idiotic, self-regarding, and brutal composure.