The Strange Beautiful

by Carla Crujido

From debut fiction writer Carla Crujido comes a delicately intertwined, fairytale-inspired collection of short stories. Part vivid historical drama, part melancholy fever dream, The Strange Beautiful centers on Mount Vernon Apartments in Spokane, Washington, offering a glimpse into the lives of ten tenants over a period of one hundred years. In the opening story, "The Songbird," we meet the building's caretaker, a WWI veteran trying to rebuild his life amidst the Spanish flu pandemic. In "The Telephone," a 21st-century poet's longing for a bygone era nurtures a friendship that transcends time. A 1930s department store mannequin navigates the challenges of womanhood in the surreal, darkly humorous tale, "The Mannequin." And in "The Suitcase," an exhausted woman scrambles to tidy up her boyfriend's unprocessed emotions, which have materialized inside boxes all over the apartment. As we witness the quiet but fraught moments of the tenants' everyday lives, these uncanny narratives create a world that is at once familiar and fantastic. A striking portrait of a city not often depicted in literature, The Strange Beautiful leads us through the streets of Spokane and the similarly evolving internal landscapes of these ten characters. Crujido's masterful storytelling shows us how a single place can hold a myriad of histories, how our lives are interconnected with strangers, and how our collective tales are forever repeating.

Genres: Short Stories

202 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2023

Reviews

[Lesley Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. Yes. Fabulous!

[Steph (starrysteph) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5 ⭐) The Strange Beautiful was a masterful conjuring of fables all woven together with one major overlapping element: a set of apartments in Spokane.

Each unforgettable tenant comes to life and boldly leaps off the page. Some are earnest, some are spiteful, and some are fragile. The stories ranged from chatty bears to time traveling phones to mannequins coming to life, and I enjoyed each one more than the last.

We’re leaping through time, starting in 1914 and ending in the present day. I enjoyed the little easter eggs in each chapter with winks and links to the other tenants. It’s a historical story of a city and a rumination on shared humanity and cyclical connections, with sprinkles of magic and surrealism within each narrative.

It’s an enchanting collection where past and present are continuously united. It can be unsettling at times, and the main characters often face traumatic endings, but there are threads of beauty & hope in each tale.

I’ll definitely be reflecting on The Strange Beautiful for a long time.

CW: war, body horror, ableism, death, murder, suicide, classism, epidemic/pandemic, addiction, drug use, infidelity, animal cruelty, animal death, body shaming, fatphobia, racism, xenophobia, sexism, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, sexual content

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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

[crystalline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories but each one is connected to the other by location. Written almost as historical fiction, each one has an otherworldly element of surrealism which, as the author said, revealed the truth better than stating facts could.

On a writing craft level this book is a pleasure to read and I found myself rereading lyric sentences that were simply beautiful. The density of the complexity Carla manages to fit into so few words rivals Hemingway's famously minimalist approach.

In addition to being so well written, the stories themselves explored widely varied characters at different stages in their lives. At least one element in each of them spoke to me on a personal level and encouraged my thoughts to continue on that path to draw my own conclusions (which, to me is an important element of stories. Why bother reading if you're not going to take the words with you?).

[The Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carla Crujido’s The Strange Beautiful is a dazzling collection of short stories with characters that both pop and haunt beyond the limitations of written pages. Whimsical in nature, these stories enamor and capture your heart and imagination, then tear it to shreds in the same breath.

Crujido’s prose is nothing short of magical and breathtaking, often prompting you to stop and gather yourself, then reread and stop again. With characters that stay with you for days, even weeks after reading - it’s hard to believe this masterful collection is Crujido’s debut. Truly a fantastic emerging voice to put and keep on your radar.

Read more reviews at https://www.wearetheana.com/

[Greta Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up from the library on a whim and it’s safe to say this is one of the best books I’ve read in some time. I had no idea what to expect and was utterly surprised by the whimsy of each short story.

Carla Crujido does such a spectacular job at creating the magic of the Mt. Vernon Apartments. Despite the silliness intertwined into some of the stories, there really isn’t anything funny about them. Each story feels like Crujido crafted it with such diligence and care for the larger story she was trying to tell.

Definitely going to purchase a copy of this one for my bookcase. Already eager to read it again. And as someone who doesn’t enjoy re-reading books, that means something.

[Lola Milholland · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are contemporary fairytales. Crujido’s writing is elegantly clean and evocative. Words feel unexpected and precise. The characters are haunted people lost in time who will go on to haunt the future. Most of the stories have an abiding melancholy, yet somehow the overall impression this collection left me with is awe. The world of this book is full of wonder, even if there are no happy endings.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this out because of a review in the Newspaper. Each chapter is about a different character and time, but set in the same apartment building. It was well written, the stories were different and interesting. Even with that I debated about not finishing the book. It's just not something I usually prefer to read.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crujido fully inhabits the Mt. Vernon apartments and the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington in this ghostly, sometimes magical collection of stories that spans over the last 100 years. Her multi-faceted characters make these detailed stories come to life in vivid sensations.

[Brie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intertwining stories throughout decades in an apartment building in Spokane, WA. Very interesting short stories though I cannot decide if I enjoyed them or the fact places I know of/have been to in Spokane are name checked in the stories. I think it mayhap added to my enjoyment.

[Kelli Estes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, magical stories with characters that linger in my mind and heart.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Meeting the author and reading this book while I was in Spokane was a special treat.

[Vincent Antonio Rendoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knockout collection. A wonderfully weird, well-crafted valentine to Washington's Second City by a storyteller in her element.

[Danielle Day-Beddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been so sad to finish a book! Definitely leaves you wanting more stories from the Mount Vernon Apartments!

[Tara Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eerie and heart-rending and funny and fabulous