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The Goth House Experiment
An uncanny and electric story collection from SJ Sindu, Lambda Literary finalist and Publishing Triangle Edmund White Debut Fiction Award–winning author of Blue-Skinned Gods
In “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc,” a millennial English professor facing mounting personal crises puts her energies into TikTok, but her newfound viral fame could wreck her already unstable life. In “Patriots'; Day,” a man trying to leave his marriage for the woman he loves finds himself caught up in larger currents of anti-Asian violence. In other stories, an array of loners and artists—a young poet haunted by the ghost of Oscar Wilde, a queer beer brewer, a boy with wings—struggle for connection and fulfillment in a world battered by the pandemic and reactionary politics. A daring writer with limitless range, SJ Sindu can depict shocking cruelty as readily as small moments of queer joy. The Goth House Experiment is a startling and very funny collection by one of America’s most exciting young voices.
In “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc,” a millennial English professor facing mounting personal crises puts her energies into TikTok, but her newfound viral fame could wreck her already unstable life. In “Patriots'; Day,” a man trying to leave his marriage for the woman he loves finds himself caught up in larger currents of anti-Asian violence. In other stories, an array of loners and artists—a young poet haunted by the ghost of Oscar Wilde, a queer beer brewer, a boy with wings—struggle for connection and fulfillment in a world battered by the pandemic and reactionary politics. A daring writer with limitless range, SJ Sindu can depict shocking cruelty as readily as small moments of queer joy. The Goth House Experiment is a startling and very funny collection by one of America’s most exciting young voices.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2023
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2799 people want to read
About the author
S.J. Sindu
12 books463 followersSJ Sindu is a Tamil diaspora author of two novels, Marriage of a Thousand Lies and Blue-Skinned Gods, as well as the hybrid fiction and nonfiction chapbook I Once Met You But You Were Dead. A 2013 Lambda Literary Fellow, Sindu holds a PhD in English from Florida State University, and teaches at the University of Toronto.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
December 20, 2023
A unique collection of stories on navigating creative, emotional, sexual, and political landscapes. Timely, vibrant, and expertly written, each story glows with its own personality, exploring self discovery, queer joy, internal crisis, and creative breakthroughs. It accounts for the blending between the everyday and the extraordinary, the vague magic that can in an instant change our views, our lives. Through provoking, fun, and mystical.
December 9, 2024
"I do miss the singe in my lungs… It's heaven to be able to buy oblivion."
As with any collection of short stories, some are better than others. I enjoyed the first two, but the quality declined after that until Wilde made his grand, ghostly appearance. The effort to make the situations more contemporary had both positive and negative effects. I felt pulled in two directions at once, which didn’t create a very pleasant reading experience.
'Dark Academia' and 'The Goth House Experiment' are two short stories that I would read again. Those two really stuck with me after reading. The others didn't capture my full attention.
Overall, this collection was decent, but nothing particularly stood out to me as it has with other short stories I've read in the past. S.J.'s writing flowed well enough for me to finish the book, and because of that, I would be willing to explore some of their other works.
As with any collection of short stories, some are better than others. I enjoyed the first two, but the quality declined after that until Wilde made his grand, ghostly appearance. The effort to make the situations more contemporary had both positive and negative effects. I felt pulled in two directions at once, which didn’t create a very pleasant reading experience.
'Dark Academia' and 'The Goth House Experiment' are two short stories that I would read again. Those two really stuck with me after reading. The others didn't capture my full attention.
Overall, this collection was decent, but nothing particularly stood out to me as it has with other short stories I've read in the past. S.J.'s writing flowed well enough for me to finish the book, and because of that, I would be willing to explore some of their other works.
January 19, 2024
As an overall work, I think The Goth House Experiment falls flat. It feels like two collections smashed haphazardly together, and I liked one collection far more than the other.
I think Sindu is at their strongest with the speculative stories. The penultimate story "The Goth House Experiment" was a good choice for the title of the collection because it's really good. I loved the writer who's haunted by the spirit of Oscar Wilde. The final story in the collection, "Miracle Boy," was also gorgeous and quite excellent. I wish this had been a complete collection of stories like these two because they were poignant, creative, and wonderful.
The first four contemporary stories were not so good in my opinion. It's hard to critique them because they felt like an exercise in processing frustrating and painful events of the last few years, but having read the last two stories in the set and Sindu's novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies, I know they're capable of crafting complex contemporary stories with well-developed characters, hence my criticism of these.
The characters were, in my opinion, really tedious to spend time with. I'm all for unlikeable characters, but these were frustrating to me. The themes and messages of the contemporary stories were also really heavy-handed, I felt they lacked the subtlety and nuance of "The Goth House Experiment" and "Miracle Boy."
"Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" was meant to be a skewering of the current-day reactionary and volatile politics of the TikTok generation. I think there's a lot to be said about the topic, but it was told in a very clumsy way. A topic that has a lot of nuance was reduced to a strawman, caricature of everyone's worst idea of Zoomers on the Internet.
"Patriots' Day" came really close for me. It was so close to being good, but Pamela's character was so cartoonishly evil that it tipped into melodrama, which is awful given the subject matter and the way the story ended. I think the story either needed to lean into her villainousness or be a little more grounded. At the moment, it's kinda Frankenstein's-Monster'd it's way into being hard to take seriously.
Again, "Wild Ale" came close, but was complicated. This one felt the most like a novel idea that was crushed down into a short story with a lot of unresolved tension. The ending devolved into what could have been comical hijinks, but was, again, really hard to take seriously, which is a shame.
I will say, the standout contemporary story was the very short "I Like to Imagine Daisy from Mrs. Dalloway as an Indian Woman," which was only 4 pages (3 minutes in the audibook) and was excellent. It was concise, yet still built a compelling narrative with a rich, well developed character. As I stated before, it's things like these that make "Dark Academia," "Patriots' Day," and "Wild Ale" frustrating, because I know they could be really good, yet they fall flat.
I think Sindu is at their strongest with the speculative stories. The penultimate story "The Goth House Experiment" was a good choice for the title of the collection because it's really good. I loved the writer who's haunted by the spirit of Oscar Wilde. The final story in the collection, "Miracle Boy," was also gorgeous and quite excellent. I wish this had been a complete collection of stories like these two because they were poignant, creative, and wonderful.
The first four contemporary stories were not so good in my opinion. It's hard to critique them because they felt like an exercise in processing frustrating and painful events of the last few years, but having read the last two stories in the set and Sindu's novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies, I know they're capable of crafting complex contemporary stories with well-developed characters, hence my criticism of these.
The characters were, in my opinion, really tedious to spend time with. I'm all for unlikeable characters, but these were frustrating to me. The themes and messages of the contemporary stories were also really heavy-handed, I felt they lacked the subtlety and nuance of "The Goth House Experiment" and "Miracle Boy."
"Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" was meant to be a skewering of the current-day reactionary and volatile politics of the TikTok generation. I think there's a lot to be said about the topic, but it was told in a very clumsy way. A topic that has a lot of nuance was reduced to a strawman, caricature of everyone's worst idea of Zoomers on the Internet.
"Patriots' Day" came really close for me. It was so close to being good, but Pamela's character was so cartoonishly evil that it tipped into melodrama, which is awful given the subject matter and the way the story ended. I think the story either needed to lean into her villainousness or be a little more grounded. At the moment, it's kinda Frankenstein's-Monster'd it's way into being hard to take seriously.
Again, "Wild Ale" came close, but was complicated. This one felt the most like a novel idea that was crushed down into a short story with a lot of unresolved tension. The ending devolved into what could have been comical hijinks, but was, again, really hard to take seriously, which is a shame.
I will say, the standout contemporary story was the very short "I Like to Imagine Daisy from Mrs. Dalloway as an Indian Woman," which was only 4 pages (3 minutes in the audibook) and was excellent. It was concise, yet still built a compelling narrative with a rich, well developed character. As I stated before, it's things like these that make "Dark Academia," "Patriots' Day," and "Wild Ale" frustrating, because I know they could be really good, yet they fall flat.
November 4, 2023
2.5 stars
This was a very fast read; all of the stories were short and quick-paced. I enjoyed reading most of them, but not a single one stood out as particularly engaging or impactful.
In fact, several of them, while interesting, also centered around a dysfunctional couple. There was a man who's cheated on his wife, and a queer couple who quarantined together for COVID and fought constantly. It just felt like a lot of negativity packed into such a short book.
I liked Sindu's writing. I felt like that was enough to engage me. Maybe I'd enjoy a longer-form novel of hers, but these stories really just didn't pack any type of punch.
This was a very fast read; all of the stories were short and quick-paced. I enjoyed reading most of them, but not a single one stood out as particularly engaging or impactful.
In fact, several of them, while interesting, also centered around a dysfunctional couple. There was a man who's cheated on his wife, and a queer couple who quarantined together for COVID and fought constantly. It just felt like a lot of negativity packed into such a short book.
I liked Sindu's writing. I felt like that was enough to engage me. Maybe I'd enjoy a longer-form novel of hers, but these stories really just didn't pack any type of punch.
April 1, 2024
Without a doubt the best thing I’ve read in a long, long time. Stunning.
July 13, 2025
Two of the main stories being about how lesbians are crazy, evil, and hate non-lesbians for seemingly no reason... Yeah, you're not slick.
August 18, 2023
Poignant & sharp storytelling, unlike any I’ve read before.
Readers might need to suspend expend expectations based on the author’s previous exceptional books before embarking on this reading journey.
Each story is distinct & a few of them left me entirely awe struck or bereft. Isn’t a story collection meant to do just that? Access a copy & I recommend you read it with eyes wide open & ready for the unexpected.
I rarely read in this genre & I’m so glad SoHo press sent me an advance copy.
Readers might need to suspend expend expectations based on the author’s previous exceptional books before embarking on this reading journey.
Each story is distinct & a few of them left me entirely awe struck or bereft. Isn’t a story collection meant to do just that? Access a copy & I recommend you read it with eyes wide open & ready for the unexpected.
I rarely read in this genre & I’m so glad SoHo press sent me an advance copy.
January 1, 2025
I’m too much of an angry lesbian to write a review.
May 2, 2025
This fell flat for me which is weird because I actually very much liked the writing. But the stories rarely came together in an exciting way by their end. I'd say there was only one story I genuinely liked in all of its parts. I do know that I have a preference for short stories with a genre element, particularly of the magical realism or speculative kind, so it's not a huge surprise that the one I liked here was precisely that. But I have enjoyed writers of short fiction that completely reside in the realms of realism before, plus there is more than one story with that extra aspect.
This collection looks a lot at relationships, gender and identity. We have a Covid story, there's a Boston marathon bombing story, we have the ghost of Oscar Wilde and writer's block, we have an angel as the cover promises. There's beer brewing, online culture and very briefly Mrs. Dalloway. Looking back now: 3 of them I struggle to recall what they were about and have to glance into the pages to remind myself. And there is only 6 stories! The first story, "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" dug into online cultures/ online behavior and had an interesting discussion about lesbian vs bisexual identity going on, insightful to me in moments, and I very much enjoyed the characters but the ending didn't deliver for me. Most endings left a bit of an underwhelming taste in the air. Nothing to shake anyone's foundations, nothing to make these more memorable. I like a punchy ending and there was little of that here.
Then there is "Miracle Boy" which does all that I adore in short story: strong narration, wonderfully weird, strong ending. To me it's the only one that lives up to the vibes of the cover and not simply because it's the one with the angel. But this cover and the titles promise a lot stranger terrains than what we actually embark upon. So maybe some of my disappointment is after all about these being too strongly rooted in reality?! And considering I chose this over Mariana Enriquez as my monthly short story collection, I am doubly saddened now....
This collection looks a lot at relationships, gender and identity. We have a Covid story, there's a Boston marathon bombing story, we have the ghost of Oscar Wilde and writer's block, we have an angel as the cover promises. There's beer brewing, online culture and very briefly Mrs. Dalloway. Looking back now: 3 of them I struggle to recall what they were about and have to glance into the pages to remind myself. And there is only 6 stories! The first story, "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" dug into online cultures/ online behavior and had an interesting discussion about lesbian vs bisexual identity going on, insightful to me in moments, and I very much enjoyed the characters but the ending didn't deliver for me. Most endings left a bit of an underwhelming taste in the air. Nothing to shake anyone's foundations, nothing to make these more memorable. I like a punchy ending and there was little of that here.
Then there is "Miracle Boy" which does all that I adore in short story: strong narration, wonderfully weird, strong ending. To me it's the only one that lives up to the vibes of the cover and not simply because it's the one with the angel. But this cover and the titles promise a lot stranger terrains than what we actually embark upon. So maybe some of my disappointment is after all about these being too strongly rooted in reality?! And considering I chose this over Mariana Enriquez as my monthly short story collection, I am doubly saddened now....
August 24, 2024
Fast paced read, but inconsistent story to story for me. One would completely captivate me beginning to end then the next would be so unengaging with completely irredeemable characters to a point where I wanted to dnf.
January 18, 2025
So much emotion conveyed in so few words. An excellent collection.
June 15, 2025
3.5/4 stars
Favorite stories here are Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc, I Like to Imagine Daisy from Mrs. Dalloway as an Indian Woman, and Wild Ale! :)
Favorite stories here are Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc, I Like to Imagine Daisy from Mrs. Dalloway as an Indian Woman, and Wild Ale! :)
December 9, 2025
The talent is undeniable
Read
October 5, 2025I started this book and abandoned it within 15 minutes. Unfortunately, it read as pretentious, judgmental, classist, and condescending. The writing alienated me, and probably much of the audience who might be drawn in by the title and description, by being a bit sardonic in its evaluation of dark academia as a genre and social media as an outlet and tool for connection. If the author was intending to argue a thesis, they surely did, but not one I wanted to stick around for past the introductory paragraph. I would not recommend this.
June 6, 2023
5 stars
_Blue Skinned Gods_ was a gripping read for me, not only while the experience was happening but in hindsight. I think of that book often and have been looking forward to more from Sindu. Even with the incoming high expectations, I was NOT PREPARED for what I got in this collection; it is fantastic.
Each of these stories is compelling in its own right, and I had to really divorce myself from thinking about how I wanted to teach them to better enjoy them for myself. To be clear, the mark of a good read for me often is that I instantly start thinking about how I'll teach it. But I also wanted to dig into these for my own enjoyment, and that was made pretty easy from the jump with "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc." Are you an English professor? Are you a millennial? Are you trying to stay away from social media because you just KNOW that's part of what's replaced the deeper pontificating you used to see in the ol' days of the 2010s, even? Well? Check, check, and check, and I laughed - and felt horrified - for every second of this particular read. Sindu really cracked open the focus group notes of a whole segment of us and then showed our darkest selves right back to us. All I can think about while I write this is how I can't wait to read that one again.
But this collection isn't centered on a one hit wonder. There's some fantastic pandemic time capsuling happening, some extraordinary character development, a kind of magical realism prequel to a particular 'very old man' many of us know and worry for, a lot of queer expression (ghosts included), and even a brief interlude from a favorite classic character: a dash of the Modern to balance the post-.
I had been saving this collection for a day when I felt like I needed a reward, and Sindu - again - did not let me down. I thoroughly enjoyed these pieces, and after I give myself a little more time with them, I'll look forward to sharing them with students, too: the greatest compliment of all.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
_Blue Skinned Gods_ was a gripping read for me, not only while the experience was happening but in hindsight. I think of that book often and have been looking forward to more from Sindu. Even with the incoming high expectations, I was NOT PREPARED for what I got in this collection; it is fantastic.
Each of these stories is compelling in its own right, and I had to really divorce myself from thinking about how I wanted to teach them to better enjoy them for myself. To be clear, the mark of a good read for me often is that I instantly start thinking about how I'll teach it. But I also wanted to dig into these for my own enjoyment, and that was made pretty easy from the jump with "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc." Are you an English professor? Are you a millennial? Are you trying to stay away from social media because you just KNOW that's part of what's replaced the deeper pontificating you used to see in the ol' days of the 2010s, even? Well? Check, check, and check, and I laughed - and felt horrified - for every second of this particular read. Sindu really cracked open the focus group notes of a whole segment of us and then showed our darkest selves right back to us. All I can think about while I write this is how I can't wait to read that one again.
But this collection isn't centered on a one hit wonder. There's some fantastic pandemic time capsuling happening, some extraordinary character development, a kind of magical realism prequel to a particular 'very old man' many of us know and worry for, a lot of queer expression (ghosts included), and even a brief interlude from a favorite classic character: a dash of the Modern to balance the post-.
I had been saving this collection for a day when I felt like I needed a reward, and Sindu - again - did not let me down. I thoroughly enjoyed these pieces, and after I give myself a little more time with them, I'll look forward to sharing them with students, too: the greatest compliment of all.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
July 13, 2023
The Goth House Experiment is a whimsical collection of short stories. This book had everything I look for in anthologies — it took me across a spectrum of emotions, it had morally ambiguous characters and moments that made me think hard. Even the shortest story of the lot "I Like ot Imagine Daisy from Mrs. Dallloway as an Indian Woman" was hard-hitting.
My favourite stories were "Miracle Boy" and "Dark Acacdemia and The Lesbian Masterdoc."
"Miracle Boy" reminded me a bit of young Kalki from Blue-Skinned Gods. The story uses magical realism to depict a town's reaction to a boy growing wings (the last line was just perfect).
"Dark Academia and The Lesbian Masterdoc" was an unexpected happy surprise altogether. It delves into a millennial's new social media fame and subsequent addiction while she grapples with other facets of her life.
Thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for the ARC.
My favourite stories were "Miracle Boy" and "Dark Acacdemia and The Lesbian Masterdoc."
"Miracle Boy" reminded me a bit of young Kalki from Blue-Skinned Gods. The story uses magical realism to depict a town's reaction to a boy growing wings (the last line was just perfect).
"Dark Academia and The Lesbian Masterdoc" was an unexpected happy surprise altogether. It delves into a millennial's new social media fame and subsequent addiction while she grapples with other facets of her life.
Thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for the ARC.
September 5, 2025
ngl the descriptors for each story were more interesting than the stories themselves
October 8, 2023
This was absolutely fantastic! Each story had well-developed, interesting characters and an intriguing plot. The fact that the first story is titled "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" should tell you everything you need to know. It's queer and intersectional and wonderfully written. I absolutely recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Soho Press for the ARC.
February 20, 2025
I was really underwhelmed by this collection of short stories. Probably because many of them had the same theme, which is “I’m in my 30s and my spouse and I hate each other.” Overall, nothing really stood out to me.
June 1, 2025
a series of short stories that tries to have unlikable characters but can only come up with ‘hysterical jealous biphobic lesbians’ for two of its longest stories. also a really drawn out short story about the boston marathon bombing
September 24, 2023
These stories got me out of my reading slump. Loved this book!
November 9, 2024
2.5. I desperately needed actual complexity in these characters and freshness in these stories, but didn’t get much.
December 29, 2024
if i wasn’t already sick before reading this, i’d be sure that this was the cause of my illness. jeeeesus christ.
November 5, 2023
My rating is primarily based on "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" , the first story in the collection by S J Sindu. If you have followed my reviews this last few years, you will know that Sindu is one of my favorite new authors and both "Blue Skinned Gods" and "Marriage of a Thousand Lies" are books I recommend to everyone. This collection of short stories felt like a very different project for the author, and the first story is the most successful in my opinion. "Wild Ale" had a similar feeling and it was definitely 2nd runner up for me. I will continue to read every single thing this author writes! I join the Chicago Review of Books in that, apparently.
In a review, they say, "To follow SJ Sindu’s work over the past few years is to admire diversity of form. From novels (Marriage of a Thousand Lies, Blue-Skinned Gods) to children’s literature (Shakti) to chapbooks (Dominant Genes) to short stories, Sindu proves there are so many ways interpret modern life—through fairy tale tropes, literary parallels, and tightly framed narratives. In The Goth House Experiment, Sindu understands each concept they take on and follows them from beginning to end, never shying away from emotional detail.
The first story, “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc,” borders on cringe-inducing with its temporality. It is always challenging to read about present-day technology, and Sindu exploits this discomfort in excruciating detail. Our narrator, a middle-aged professor in a newly open marriage, is thrust into the world of TikTok trends and viral infamy. As the boundaries between her private and social life dissolve, she cries out for nuance from an audience incapable of it. While the unrealistic pace of Sindu’s narrator’s descent is comical, stretched to horror proportions that don’t resonate until the end, the story sheds light on what it means to exist on and offline, and how such choices are not always in our hands. "
And the author provides a bit more context in a recent interview, sharing, "I’m also really interested in this sense of isolation we feel as we get increasingly connected to each other. It’s really fascinating to me that the more globally connected we get and the more connected we get on social media, the more isolated and lonely people have felt. It’s really interesting because, ostensibly, we go to social media for community. But instead of finding a loving community, often we find the opposite, and we find community that polices us or that is toxic in some ways or that gossips or that attacks us. I’m also really interested in the ways there’s infighting within communities." The author also shares in the interview that writing the first story “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc” pulls a lot of its material from real life - things that Sindu has actually experienced. It makes sense then, that this story feels the most complete, the most real, and the one that I felt able to connect with on a visceral level. Identity politics, biological essentialism, polyamory, cancel culture, and the incredibly dangerous lure of TikTok (HOW does five hours go by in a blink?! I had to delete the app because I could not figure out how to be moderate either.) combine to make this a really compelling take on this moment in time.
https://chireviewofbooks.com/2023/10/...
https://news.vcu.edu/article/2023/10/...
In a review, they say, "To follow SJ Sindu’s work over the past few years is to admire diversity of form. From novels (Marriage of a Thousand Lies, Blue-Skinned Gods) to children’s literature (Shakti) to chapbooks (Dominant Genes) to short stories, Sindu proves there are so many ways interpret modern life—through fairy tale tropes, literary parallels, and tightly framed narratives. In The Goth House Experiment, Sindu understands each concept they take on and follows them from beginning to end, never shying away from emotional detail.
The first story, “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc,” borders on cringe-inducing with its temporality. It is always challenging to read about present-day technology, and Sindu exploits this discomfort in excruciating detail. Our narrator, a middle-aged professor in a newly open marriage, is thrust into the world of TikTok trends and viral infamy. As the boundaries between her private and social life dissolve, she cries out for nuance from an audience incapable of it. While the unrealistic pace of Sindu’s narrator’s descent is comical, stretched to horror proportions that don’t resonate until the end, the story sheds light on what it means to exist on and offline, and how such choices are not always in our hands. "
And the author provides a bit more context in a recent interview, sharing, "I’m also really interested in this sense of isolation we feel as we get increasingly connected to each other. It’s really fascinating to me that the more globally connected we get and the more connected we get on social media, the more isolated and lonely people have felt. It’s really interesting because, ostensibly, we go to social media for community. But instead of finding a loving community, often we find the opposite, and we find community that polices us or that is toxic in some ways or that gossips or that attacks us. I’m also really interested in the ways there’s infighting within communities." The author also shares in the interview that writing the first story “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc” pulls a lot of its material from real life - things that Sindu has actually experienced. It makes sense then, that this story feels the most complete, the most real, and the one that I felt able to connect with on a visceral level. Identity politics, biological essentialism, polyamory, cancel culture, and the incredibly dangerous lure of TikTok (HOW does five hours go by in a blink?! I had to delete the app because I could not figure out how to be moderate either.) combine to make this a really compelling take on this moment in time.
https://chireviewofbooks.com/2023/10/...
https://news.vcu.edu/article/2023/10/...
June 10, 2024
An interesting little collection of short stories by S.J. Sindu; I was inspired to pick this up after reading Marriage of a Thousand Lies for book club. Anyone who has read Sindu's debut novel will find familiar themes of gender, sexuality, troubled marriages, the immigrant experience, and, of course, Boston, Massachusetts. I found Sindu's speculative stories to be the strongest - Miracle Boy, about a child in rural India who spontaneously grows wings - and the titular Goth House Experiment about a man on a writer's retreat communicating with the ghost of Oscar Wilde.
Sindu's contemporary stories are also super interesting - Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc in particular shook me to my core with traumatizing flashbacks to 2014 Tumblr - but I found the thematic bent of this to be a bit heavy-handed. I liked the explicit deconstruction of the "Dark Academia" aesthetic as performative and vaguely colonial, and also enjoyed the commentary on the toxic, addictive cycle of TikTok fame. Similarly, as someone with direct experience identifying as a lesbian due to the masterdoc (and its Tumblr posts of origin) for a number of years before rediscovering my bisexuality, I can absolutely sympathize with the story's critique of defining sexuality as categorical rather than a spectrum and the bioessentialist, TERFy ideology that can be weaponized by bad actors in the queer community. However, the rhetoric felt alarmingly hostile towards Zoomer lesbians, characterizing them unfairly as a unilateral group of neopuritan TERFs. This idea was echoed in several other stories in a way that made me fairly uncomfortable - but possibility this is just my overfamiliarity with the subject matter.
I found it interesting how most of the contemporary stories could be directly linked to major events of the past decade (COVID, the Boston Marathon bombing, Trump, TikTok), each exploring how these events were lived differently by folks marginalized by race, gender, or sexuality. A lot of this felt like an exercise for Sindu in processing these experiences herself, and there is a clear undercurrent of tension and anger beneath her words that makes the stories a tough but revelatory read. This made me excited to read Blue Skinned Gods, which seems to be moreso a speculative read.
Sindu's contemporary stories are also super interesting - Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc in particular shook me to my core with traumatizing flashbacks to 2014 Tumblr - but I found the thematic bent of this to be a bit heavy-handed. I liked the explicit deconstruction of the "Dark Academia" aesthetic as performative and vaguely colonial, and also enjoyed the commentary on the toxic, addictive cycle of TikTok fame. Similarly, as someone with direct experience identifying as a lesbian due to the masterdoc (and its Tumblr posts of origin) for a number of years before rediscovering my bisexuality, I can absolutely sympathize with the story's critique of defining sexuality as categorical rather than a spectrum and the bioessentialist, TERFy ideology that can be weaponized by bad actors in the queer community. However, the rhetoric felt alarmingly hostile towards Zoomer lesbians, characterizing them unfairly as a unilateral group of neopuritan TERFs. This idea was echoed in several other stories in a way that made me fairly uncomfortable - but possibility this is just my overfamiliarity with the subject matter.
I found it interesting how most of the contemporary stories could be directly linked to major events of the past decade (COVID, the Boston Marathon bombing, Trump, TikTok), each exploring how these events were lived differently by folks marginalized by race, gender, or sexuality. A lot of this felt like an exercise for Sindu in processing these experiences herself, and there is a clear undercurrent of tension and anger beneath her words that makes the stories a tough but revelatory read. This made me excited to read Blue Skinned Gods, which seems to be moreso a speculative read.
August 12, 2025
Through captivating short stories, S.J. Sindu delves into the universal struggle to maintain individuality in a society that often demands conformity. Through this startling and eclectic collection, the celebrated novelist of "Marriage of a Thousand Lies" and "Blue Skinned Gods” proves their mastery of storytelling is not limited to novels.
“The Goth House Experiment” delves into a wide range of themes: the consequences of online fame, the challenges of leaving a marriage for love, and the struggle for connection and self-expression in a world affected by the pandemic and societal unrest. In the richly detailed worlds they are transported to, readers will discover numerous points of resonance.
With humor and, at times, horrifying insight, Sindu brilliantly sheds light on important modern issues. Her writing brings marginalized voices to the forefront, touching upon the immigrant experience with assimilation, discrimination, and racism and the queer community. In addition, the collection explores the power and volatility of the internet age. Through narratives that examine the ripple effects of our actions, Sindu underscores the dangers of “going viral” and cancel culture. While a thoroughly enjoyable read, these stories also serve as cautionary tales, prompting reflection on the consequences of misinformation and the fragility of online reputations. Sindu possesses a remarkable talent for crafting flawed and deeply resonant characters, providing readers with an enjoyable reading experience and abundant material for introspection.
“The Goth House Experiment” delves into a wide range of themes: the consequences of online fame, the challenges of leaving a marriage for love, and the struggle for connection and self-expression in a world affected by the pandemic and societal unrest. In the richly detailed worlds they are transported to, readers will discover numerous points of resonance.
With humor and, at times, horrifying insight, Sindu brilliantly sheds light on important modern issues. Her writing brings marginalized voices to the forefront, touching upon the immigrant experience with assimilation, discrimination, and racism and the queer community. In addition, the collection explores the power and volatility of the internet age. Through narratives that examine the ripple effects of our actions, Sindu underscores the dangers of “going viral” and cancel culture. While a thoroughly enjoyable read, these stories also serve as cautionary tales, prompting reflection on the consequences of misinformation and the fragility of online reputations. Sindu possesses a remarkable talent for crafting flawed and deeply resonant characters, providing readers with an enjoyable reading experience and abundant material for introspection.
August 4, 2023
I was expecting something completely different. I never read something from this author before, and this anthology collection is.... weird to say the least.
I requested this book because of the title which is also the name of one of the stories in the collection, however The Goth House Experiment has nothing of gothic? Its just a weird dude who is ""haunted"" and I'm using air quotes because it doesn't even feel like a haunting, of the ghost of Oscar Wilde, and it just doesn't make any sense???
One of the other stories is called Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc. I was cautious at first to get my hopes up, because I am currently writing about dark academia the literary genre, for my master thesis, and I know how much people mistake what dark academia is, and sometimes they are simply talking about the aesthetic and not the genre. In this case it is the latter, however the commentary isn't even on DA specifically, but rather a much more Black Mirror approach that just left me a bit... Underwhelmed? I mean it was interesting at first, but then things took a turn and just ended on a very weird note. I did however find out that the Lesbian Masterdoc is in fact something real and not made up.
Overall I would say that I didn't really enjoy the stories in the collection at all. I would not recommend them.
↠ 2 stars✨
Thanks to Soho Press for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
I requested this book because of the title which is also the name of one of the stories in the collection, however The Goth House Experiment has nothing of gothic? Its just a weird dude who is ""haunted"" and I'm using air quotes because it doesn't even feel like a haunting, of the ghost of Oscar Wilde, and it just doesn't make any sense???
One of the other stories is called Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc. I was cautious at first to get my hopes up, because I am currently writing about dark academia the literary genre, for my master thesis, and I know how much people mistake what dark academia is, and sometimes they are simply talking about the aesthetic and not the genre. In this case it is the latter, however the commentary isn't even on DA specifically, but rather a much more Black Mirror approach that just left me a bit... Underwhelmed? I mean it was interesting at first, but then things took a turn and just ended on a very weird note. I did however find out that the Lesbian Masterdoc is in fact something real and not made up.
Overall I would say that I didn't really enjoy the stories in the collection at all. I would not recommend them.
↠ 2 stars✨
Thanks to Soho Press for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.
December 11, 2023
this collection of short stories was a bit of a mixed bag for me personally, with some really good stories and some that missed the mark.
let’s start with the good: “Patriot’s Day,” the second story in the collection, was very well written and deliciously complex, handling two very different major characters and their interconnections with skill and style. “Miracle Boy,” which closes the collection, was also very good and very thoughtful, and Sindu does a wonderful job of writing a trickier POV (the narrator is a child).
on the other hand, I was not compelled by the opener, “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc,” which felt like it had interesting things to explore but that it didn’t give them enough time or space to develop; instead of the four-ish major themes it tried to balance, two would have been perfect, and there were a number of fascinating possible combinations of those themes. the title story, “The Goth House Experiment,” also seemed underdeveloped; I could see where it was trying to go, but it didn’t quite make it there.
so: the good was definitely good, but I didn’t love everything in the collection. If you’re intrigued by the description, I’d say it’s worth picking up; especially with short stories, different readers connect very differently to stories! (I think, for example, that I might have appreciated “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc” more if I was more “online,” and understood TikTok a little better.) I’ll certainly look out for more work by Sindu in the future, though; I’d like to read more of her work!
thanks so much to Soho Press and Netgalley for the review copy!
let’s start with the good: “Patriot’s Day,” the second story in the collection, was very well written and deliciously complex, handling two very different major characters and their interconnections with skill and style. “Miracle Boy,” which closes the collection, was also very good and very thoughtful, and Sindu does a wonderful job of writing a trickier POV (the narrator is a child).
on the other hand, I was not compelled by the opener, “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc,” which felt like it had interesting things to explore but that it didn’t give them enough time or space to develop; instead of the four-ish major themes it tried to balance, two would have been perfect, and there were a number of fascinating possible combinations of those themes. the title story, “The Goth House Experiment,” also seemed underdeveloped; I could see where it was trying to go, but it didn’t quite make it there.
so: the good was definitely good, but I didn’t love everything in the collection. If you’re intrigued by the description, I’d say it’s worth picking up; especially with short stories, different readers connect very differently to stories! (I think, for example, that I might have appreciated “Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc” more if I was more “online,” and understood TikTok a little better.) I’ll certainly look out for more work by Sindu in the future, though; I’d like to read more of her work!
thanks so much to Soho Press and Netgalley for the review copy!
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July 14, 2025This is the first work by SJ Sindu that I have read. I get the impression that Sindu is a sharp and funny person who would be a delight to have a conversation with. But their fiction is just not to my taste. It feels like the stories are assuming both too much and too little of the reader- like, if you're in the in group already, it feels preach, and if you're in the outgroup on these issues, I'm skeptical that they would inspire you to think differently about the topics addressed.
"Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" (by far my least favorite story) hit me as a very heavy handed morality tale that managed to cram way too many topics into a short story, and leaving no space left for actual humanizing story or characters.
"Patriots' Day" is, in my entirely subjective opinion, better written, but still feels like a contrived ending to sell a particular message.
I thought "The Goth House Experiment" and "Miracle Boy" were pretty darn good. Each of those seemed to have plenty to say, but did so much more obliquely through actual characters and scenarios, and worked with the format of a fictional story (instead of straining to escape it). I found the remaining two stories, "I Like to Imagine Daisy" and "Wild Ale", fair to middling.
As a final note, the book design (the cover, the layout, the title design) is wonderful, so all due flowers to the individuals involved in that.
"Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc" (by far my least favorite story) hit me as a very heavy handed morality tale that managed to cram way too many topics into a short story, and leaving no space left for actual humanizing story or characters.
"Patriots' Day" is, in my entirely subjective opinion, better written, but still feels like a contrived ending to sell a particular message.
I thought "The Goth House Experiment" and "Miracle Boy" were pretty darn good. Each of those seemed to have plenty to say, but did so much more obliquely through actual characters and scenarios, and worked with the format of a fictional story (instead of straining to escape it). I found the remaining two stories, "I Like to Imagine Daisy" and "Wild Ale", fair to middling.
As a final note, the book design (the cover, the layout, the title design) is wonderful, so all due flowers to the individuals involved in that.
May 5, 2024
A truly mixed bag of six short stories. I enjoyed two of them, "I like to Imagine Daisy from Mrs. Dalloway as an Indian Woman" and "Miracle Boy" for their quick characterization in just a few short pages (4 pages in the case of the former story), and powerful yet insightful themes of racial assimilation and religious opposition.
"The Goth House Experiment" was also interesting for the inclusion of Oscar Wilde's ghost (not a spoiler, he appears in the first paragraph), but I found it otherwise mediocre.
The remaining three stories I found relatively bland and uninteresting, mostly because its characters were such. Obviously, based on the two stories I enjoyed, Sindu can do good characterization, but it fell flat in her other stories, and I found myself skimming through those pages. Not sure if I am interested in seeing more from this author, but I am always up to try a new short story collection.
"The Goth House Experiment" was also interesting for the inclusion of Oscar Wilde's ghost (not a spoiler, he appears in the first paragraph), but I found it otherwise mediocre.
The remaining three stories I found relatively bland and uninteresting, mostly because its characters were such. Obviously, based on the two stories I enjoyed, Sindu can do good characterization, but it fell flat in her other stories, and I found myself skimming through those pages. Not sure if I am interested in seeing more from this author, but I am always up to try a new short story collection.
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