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Before and Afterlives
These are tales of relationships with unearthly domesticity and eeriness: a woman falls in love with a haunted house; a beached mermaid is substituted for a disappeared daughter; the imaginary friend of a murdered young woman stalks the streets of her small town; a mother’s teenage son is afflicted with a disease that causes him to vanish; a father exploits his daughter’s talent for calling ghosts to her; and a wife leaves her husband and children to fulfill her obligations in the world from which she escaped.
242 pages, Paperback
First published March 18, 2013
7 people are currently reading
1020 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Barzak
62 books465 followersChristopher Barzak is the author of the Crawford Fantasy Award winning novel One for Sorrow which has been made into the Sundance feature film Jamie Marks is Dead. His second novel, The Love We Share Without Knowing, was a finalist for the Nebula Award and the James Tiptree Jr. Award. His third novel, Wonders of the Invisible World, received the Stonewall Honor from the American Library Association and most recently was selected for inclusion on the Human Rights Campaign’s list of books for libraries in LGBTQ welcoming schools. He is also the author of three short story collections: Birds and Birthdays, a collection of surrealist fantasy stories, Before and Afterlives, a collection of supernatural fantasies, which won Best Collection in the 2013 Shirley Jackson Awards, and Monstrous Alterations. His most recent novel, The Gone Away Place, received the inaugural Whippoorwill Award, and was selected for the Choose to Read Ohio program by the State Library of Ohio, the Ohioana Library Association, and the Ohio Center for the Book.
Christopher grew up in rural Kinsman, Ohio, has lived in the southern California beach town of Carlsbad, and the capital of Michigan; he taught English outside of Tokyo, Japan, where he lived for two years. He teaches creative writing at Youngstown State University, in Youngstown, Ohio.
Christopher grew up in rural Kinsman, Ohio, has lived in the southern California beach town of Carlsbad, and the capital of Michigan; he taught English outside of Tokyo, Japan, where he lived for two years. He teaches creative writing at Youngstown State University, in Youngstown, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 22, 2013
Customary author self high-fiving.
March 18, 2013
Before and Afterlives is a great introduction to the work of Christopher Barzak whose Crawford Award winning novel One For Sorrow is being turned into the film "Jamie Marks Is Dead" as I write this review.
This book is a generous selection from a rich early career - ghosts and dead boys, Pittsburg as the Gates of Hell, a merman in rural Ohio. Scary, amusing, beautiful, sad. No story gives a hint as to what the next one will be like. And you'll read every single one of them,
This book is a generous selection from a rich early career - ghosts and dead boys, Pittsburg as the Gates of Hell, a merman in rural Ohio. Scary, amusing, beautiful, sad. No story gives a hint as to what the next one will be like. And you'll read every single one of them,
January 16, 2018
As with all Of Christopher Barzak’s stories, these did not disappoint. They left me warmed inside with a feeling of hope. Hope that there is magic to be found, in what often seems to us, to be just a mundane world.
February 5, 2014
This is a fantastic collection of fantastic fiction. Lots of highlights here, though Map of Seventeen, The Language of Moths, and Smoke City are real standouts, which is pretty impressive considering I liked or loved every story here.
My interview with Christopher at Monkeybicycle.
My review at The Lit Pub.
My interview with Christopher at Monkeybicycle.
My review at The Lit Pub.
June 1, 2017
Este me gustó más que The love we share without knowing.
Me encanta que hay muchos temas para escoger y te saca la carcajada de vez en cuando.
Me encanta que hay muchos temas para escoger y te saca la carcajada de vez en cuando.
December 5, 2016
Easily one of my favorite short story collections ever. This author never fails to impress me. The stories are all over the place, from mysterious, to weird, to touching, to creepy. Some touch on adolescents/growing up, others are ghost stories. They all stick with you, though. I read this book years ago and The story "The drowned mermaid" still haunts me to this day with it's perfect mix of unsettling beauty.
Author Christopher Barzak has quite the imagination and his words (as always) flow like smooth poetry throughout. Definitely give this a shot if you like short story collections.
Author Christopher Barzak has quite the imagination and his words (as always) flow like smooth poetry throughout. Definitely give this a shot if you like short story collections.
July 16, 2016
Muy oscuros relatos, en su mayoría bastante cortos, en los que habla de violaciones, niños muertos, fantasmas con algo que reivindicar. Bastante amargo, pero excelentemente escrito, recomiendo leer en dosis cortas para no deprimirte demasiado. Pero en cualquier caso, bastante recomendable, como todo lo escrito por este autor. B+
May 9, 2014
Fantastic, very memorable collection of short stories. As always, I look forward to reading more from Barzak.
September 28, 2024
Great compilation of short stories. Despite being tagged as horror most of it was poignant or touching.
4 stars!
4 stars!
March 14, 2013
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Before I write more about this short story collection, I'll mention that this review is based on a PDF ARC.
Before and Afterlives contains the following stories:
- What We Know About the Lost Families of — House
- The Drowned Mermaid
- Dead Boy Found
- A Mad Tea Party
- Born on the Edge of an Adjective
- The Other Angelas
- A Resurrection Artist
- The Boy Who Was Born Wrapped in Barbed Wire
- Map of Seventeen
- Dead Letters
- Plenty
- The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter
- Caryatids
- A Beginner's Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse
- Smoke City
- Vanishing Point
- The Language of Moths
Before and Afterlives is an excellent short story collection full of literary fantasy and horror. The stories range from fantasy stories to ghost stories. There's a lot to like in these melancholy, weird and wondrous stories, because they're exceptionally well told tales. There's plenty of intelligence, philosophy and subtle wisdom hidden in them.
I've always been fascinated by weird stories, so I liked the weirdness of these stories very much. I think it's good to mention that these stories aren't exactly weird fiction, but speculative fiction with weird elements. Some of these stories are almost weird fiction, because there's plenty of subtle and charming weirdness in them. For example, Vanishing Point is a story, which could be categorized as modern weird fiction or possibly new weird fiction, because it's a story about a boy who is gradually disappearing.
One of the best things about this collection is that the author isn't afraid of writing about difficult themes. There aren't many authors who are able to write about everyday life, relationships, paranormal elements and sexuality as fluently as Christopher Barzak does. What makes his stories special is that the he spices them with fantastical elements and makes his readers think about things. I think that these stories will linger in the readers' minds for a long time, because it's almost impossible to stop thinking about them and their strange beauty.
Although I enjoyed reading all the stories in this collection, the best stories were Map of Seventeen and The Language of Moths, because they truly stand out in terms of depth and style (in both stories the author blends reality with fantasy).
Map of Seventeen is a beautifully written story about Meg, her brother Tommy and Tommy's boyfriend, Tristan. It's a touching story about family life, secrets, art, homosexuality and acceptance. In my opinion the author has come up with an original idea, because he writes about being gay in a state that won't allow you to have equal rights as a citizen and infuses the story with fantastical elements about being a merman (comparing being a merman to being gay is fascinating). (By the way, Map of Seventeen was nominated for the 2011 Nebula Award.)
The Language of Moths is a multi-layered and complex story about Eliot and his autistic sister, Dawn. Eliot and Dawn are with their parents in the mountains, because their father studies moths and wants to find a rare moth species. In this story - just like in Map of Seventeen - the author combines several different elements effortlessly and creates an interesting and touching story. He writes how Eliot and Dawn see the world and how they feel about things. I was amazed how fluently the author wrote about Eliot's awakening homosexuality and feelings towards a guy.
Because I want to avoid writing too many spoilers, I'll write shortly about some of the other stories:
What We Know About the Lost Families of — House is a good and well written haunted house story with interesting ghostly elements.
The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter is a fascinating story about Sylvie who has a gift of seeing and talking to ghosts. Her father uses her gift to hunt ghosts. (I enjoyed reading about Sylvie and what she thought about her father and his job.)
The Drowned Mermaid is a beautifully written story about Helena who finds a mermaid on the beach and decides to take care of her. The author writes believably about the feelings of Helena and her husband.
A Mad Tea Party is a story about madness and what it does to people. The protagonist, Alice, has problems with her mental health and she acts in strange ways.
A Beginner's Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse is definitely worth mentioning, because it's an interesting guide book about how to survive an apocalypse. It contains quite a lot of sharpness and also a bit of black humour.
Caryatids is an interesting story about sexual fantasies and how a body can be reconstructed by rewriting genes. This story contains quite a lot of sex.
All of these stories are written and structured perfectly. The author has paid a lot of attention to small details and atmosphere.
One of the things why I loved these stories is that the author has infused his prose with believable and realistic descriptions about human feelings (in my opinion he writes exceptionally beautifully and touchingly about the feelings of the characters). For example, Eliot's feelings in The Language of Moths are explored in an interesting way, because he has to deal with being different and he also has to take care of his autistic sister.
Christopher Barzak writes compellingly about his characters and what happens to them. The characters (teenagers, parents, lovers etc.) in these stories feel fresh and believable. It was interesting to read how the characters handled difficult situations, because each of them had his/her own way of dealing with them.
I'm glad that I had a chance to read Before and Afterlives, because I was impressed by Christopher Barzak's writing style, inventiveness and range of imagination. He writes beautifully and bittersweetly about life, love, death, sorrow, longing, hopefulness and sexuality, and isn't afraid of writing about difficult themes.
To be honest, Before and Afterlives is one of the best short story collections I've read during the last couple of years, because Christopher Barzak's prose is hauntingly beautiful. The power of these stories lies in the author's descriptive writing style and sense of depth. His prose is surprisingly delicate and he approaches several things in a sensitive way, but - if needed - he also dares to add macabre elements and sharpness. Because I liked this collection, I intend to read all of Christopher Barzak's books in the near future.
I have to mention that after reading Before and Afterlives I'm even more convinced than before that speculative fiction is one of the best tools to address difficult themes and controversial material. Speculative fiction gives authors a lot more freedom to explore different themes than mainstream fiction, because speculative fiction authors are often allowed to write about almost anything. In this collection Christopher Barzak delves deep into the realms of human nature and the unknown, and shows his readers what a speculative fiction author can do with difficult themes.
I highly recommend Before and Afterlives to all readers who are interested in speculative fiction, literary prose and quality stories. Please, do yourself a favour and read this collection - I'm sure that you'll love it.
Excellent short story collection!
Before I write more about this short story collection, I'll mention that this review is based on a PDF ARC.
Before and Afterlives contains the following stories:
- What We Know About the Lost Families of — House
- The Drowned Mermaid
- Dead Boy Found
- A Mad Tea Party
- Born on the Edge of an Adjective
- The Other Angelas
- A Resurrection Artist
- The Boy Who Was Born Wrapped in Barbed Wire
- Map of Seventeen
- Dead Letters
- Plenty
- The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter
- Caryatids
- A Beginner's Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse
- Smoke City
- Vanishing Point
- The Language of Moths
Before and Afterlives is an excellent short story collection full of literary fantasy and horror. The stories range from fantasy stories to ghost stories. There's a lot to like in these melancholy, weird and wondrous stories, because they're exceptionally well told tales. There's plenty of intelligence, philosophy and subtle wisdom hidden in them.
I've always been fascinated by weird stories, so I liked the weirdness of these stories very much. I think it's good to mention that these stories aren't exactly weird fiction, but speculative fiction with weird elements. Some of these stories are almost weird fiction, because there's plenty of subtle and charming weirdness in them. For example, Vanishing Point is a story, which could be categorized as modern weird fiction or possibly new weird fiction, because it's a story about a boy who is gradually disappearing.
One of the best things about this collection is that the author isn't afraid of writing about difficult themes. There aren't many authors who are able to write about everyday life, relationships, paranormal elements and sexuality as fluently as Christopher Barzak does. What makes his stories special is that the he spices them with fantastical elements and makes his readers think about things. I think that these stories will linger in the readers' minds for a long time, because it's almost impossible to stop thinking about them and their strange beauty.
Although I enjoyed reading all the stories in this collection, the best stories were Map of Seventeen and The Language of Moths, because they truly stand out in terms of depth and style (in both stories the author blends reality with fantasy).
Map of Seventeen is a beautifully written story about Meg, her brother Tommy and Tommy's boyfriend, Tristan. It's a touching story about family life, secrets, art, homosexuality and acceptance. In my opinion the author has come up with an original idea, because he writes about being gay in a state that won't allow you to have equal rights as a citizen and infuses the story with fantastical elements about being a merman (comparing being a merman to being gay is fascinating). (By the way, Map of Seventeen was nominated for the 2011 Nebula Award.)
The Language of Moths is a multi-layered and complex story about Eliot and his autistic sister, Dawn. Eliot and Dawn are with their parents in the mountains, because their father studies moths and wants to find a rare moth species. In this story - just like in Map of Seventeen - the author combines several different elements effortlessly and creates an interesting and touching story. He writes how Eliot and Dawn see the world and how they feel about things. I was amazed how fluently the author wrote about Eliot's awakening homosexuality and feelings towards a guy.
Because I want to avoid writing too many spoilers, I'll write shortly about some of the other stories:
What We Know About the Lost Families of — House is a good and well written haunted house story with interesting ghostly elements.
The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter is a fascinating story about Sylvie who has a gift of seeing and talking to ghosts. Her father uses her gift to hunt ghosts. (I enjoyed reading about Sylvie and what she thought about her father and his job.)
The Drowned Mermaid is a beautifully written story about Helena who finds a mermaid on the beach and decides to take care of her. The author writes believably about the feelings of Helena and her husband.
A Mad Tea Party is a story about madness and what it does to people. The protagonist, Alice, has problems with her mental health and she acts in strange ways.
A Beginner's Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse is definitely worth mentioning, because it's an interesting guide book about how to survive an apocalypse. It contains quite a lot of sharpness and also a bit of black humour.
Caryatids is an interesting story about sexual fantasies and how a body can be reconstructed by rewriting genes. This story contains quite a lot of sex.
All of these stories are written and structured perfectly. The author has paid a lot of attention to small details and atmosphere.
One of the things why I loved these stories is that the author has infused his prose with believable and realistic descriptions about human feelings (in my opinion he writes exceptionally beautifully and touchingly about the feelings of the characters). For example, Eliot's feelings in The Language of Moths are explored in an interesting way, because he has to deal with being different and he also has to take care of his autistic sister.
Christopher Barzak writes compellingly about his characters and what happens to them. The characters (teenagers, parents, lovers etc.) in these stories feel fresh and believable. It was interesting to read how the characters handled difficult situations, because each of them had his/her own way of dealing with them.
I'm glad that I had a chance to read Before and Afterlives, because I was impressed by Christopher Barzak's writing style, inventiveness and range of imagination. He writes beautifully and bittersweetly about life, love, death, sorrow, longing, hopefulness and sexuality, and isn't afraid of writing about difficult themes.
To be honest, Before and Afterlives is one of the best short story collections I've read during the last couple of years, because Christopher Barzak's prose is hauntingly beautiful. The power of these stories lies in the author's descriptive writing style and sense of depth. His prose is surprisingly delicate and he approaches several things in a sensitive way, but - if needed - he also dares to add macabre elements and sharpness. Because I liked this collection, I intend to read all of Christopher Barzak's books in the near future.
I have to mention that after reading Before and Afterlives I'm even more convinced than before that speculative fiction is one of the best tools to address difficult themes and controversial material. Speculative fiction gives authors a lot more freedom to explore different themes than mainstream fiction, because speculative fiction authors are often allowed to write about almost anything. In this collection Christopher Barzak delves deep into the realms of human nature and the unknown, and shows his readers what a speculative fiction author can do with difficult themes.
I highly recommend Before and Afterlives to all readers who are interested in speculative fiction, literary prose and quality stories. Please, do yourself a favour and read this collection - I'm sure that you'll love it.
Excellent short story collection!
July 29, 2018
An excellent entry point for sampling what Barzak has to offer. While the stories are often ghostly, they're more hopeful than horrifying. Prose sings from the pages, and his characters come to life and dance along.
Overall one of the most solid short-story collections I've read. Map of Seventeen and The Language of Moths were standouts to me, and I'm sure I'll revisit them over and over again.
Overall one of the most solid short-story collections I've read. Map of Seventeen and The Language of Moths were standouts to me, and I'm sure I'll revisit them over and over again.
December 10, 2021
Such a great selection of short stories, every one weird and wonderful.
May 1, 2014
I gave this book 4.5 stars, per the ratings on each story; however it fully deserves a 5. A collection of 17 short stories. A REAL WINNER OF A BOOK.
Odd and off-beat, these unusual tales frightens, depress and disturb the reader. Deeply psychological, creepy even they are written well and with deep sympathy for human nature. Very imaginative! Unique! Imagery is exceptional!
What We Know About the Lost Families of ____ House - the _____House has a History; it absorbs people, apparently…. This is a telling of all those who lived in it. - 4 stars
The Drowned Mermaid a story of loss, temporary gain at great cost, and then greater loss, of at greater cost. - 4 stars
Dead Boy Found - a young teenager is obsessed by death, so much so, that he does distressing things. - 4 stars
A Mad Tea Party - regret tastes like the tea our mom used to make for you… in a broken teacup. - 4 stars
Born on the Edge of an Adjective beautifully written and intriguing, but confusing. An old lover leaves, but with a woman who claims to be alien to our planet. Is is true? Or is he just elsewhere? However the answer, he is gone. Lost. - 3 stars
The Other Angelas- Angela decides to will herself to death, being unhappy with her philandering husband. She awakes to another, new Angela, who does things she wouldn't. Each morning, there's another, newer, Angela, giving her the confidence to "go it alone". (She's not alone!) But she knows who to rely on, now. - 4 stars
A Resurrection Artist- a young man has come back from death many times; his sister is his manager. He writes of how it feels, emotionally to die, of the process. She cares little of that, thinking only of money to be made. But what will be the ultimate price? A bit on the creepy side. - 4 stars
The Boy who Was Born Wrapped in Barbed Wire - Deeply symbolic, a statement of love and of temptation. - 5 stars
Map of Seventeen- Yes, 6 stars. Beautiful. Very different yet not. Appropriate for our day and age; a 17 yr old girl matures in just a moment, picking her life's path and learning to love without reservation or judgment. - 6 stars
Dead Letters-SO unusual. SO Beautiful, makes you pine , hope for the letter writers happiness AND that of the addressee. - 4 stars
Plenty - a tale of a generous spirit and a secret… that lets that generous spirit do the best for those with little means. - 5 stars
The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter- Complicated, sad. - 4 stars
Caryatids = This one is totally about sex, even detailing the act - a boy is changed by nano tech into a woman and describes the emotions he feels differently. Interesting, but probably more to a male. Well written. - 4 stars
A Beginner's Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse -Depressing, sad and very true - 4 stars
Smoke City- Such unusual stories! The author is male, but he truly understands women, by this tale alone. - 5 stars
Vanishing Point- Very sad. A story of Great Loss. A statement on the state of our new generation of children. - 5 stars
The Language of Moths- An autistic girl learns to speak to her brother using surprising surrogates. Kind, insightful, deep and wonder-full. - 5 stars
Odd and off-beat, these unusual tales frightens, depress and disturb the reader. Deeply psychological, creepy even they are written well and with deep sympathy for human nature. Very imaginative! Unique! Imagery is exceptional!
What We Know About the Lost Families of ____ House - the _____House has a History; it absorbs people, apparently…. This is a telling of all those who lived in it. - 4 stars
The Drowned Mermaid a story of loss, temporary gain at great cost, and then greater loss, of at greater cost. - 4 stars
Dead Boy Found - a young teenager is obsessed by death, so much so, that he does distressing things. - 4 stars
A Mad Tea Party - regret tastes like the tea our mom used to make for you… in a broken teacup. - 4 stars
Born on the Edge of an Adjective beautifully written and intriguing, but confusing. An old lover leaves, but with a woman who claims to be alien to our planet. Is is true? Or is he just elsewhere? However the answer, he is gone. Lost. - 3 stars
The Other Angelas- Angela decides to will herself to death, being unhappy with her philandering husband. She awakes to another, new Angela, who does things she wouldn't. Each morning, there's another, newer, Angela, giving her the confidence to "go it alone". (She's not alone!) But she knows who to rely on, now. - 4 stars
A Resurrection Artist- a young man has come back from death many times; his sister is his manager. He writes of how it feels, emotionally to die, of the process. She cares little of that, thinking only of money to be made. But what will be the ultimate price? A bit on the creepy side. - 4 stars
The Boy who Was Born Wrapped in Barbed Wire - Deeply symbolic, a statement of love and of temptation. - 5 stars
Map of Seventeen- Yes, 6 stars. Beautiful. Very different yet not. Appropriate for our day and age; a 17 yr old girl matures in just a moment, picking her life's path and learning to love without reservation or judgment. - 6 stars
Dead Letters-SO unusual. SO Beautiful, makes you pine , hope for the letter writers happiness AND that of the addressee. - 4 stars
Plenty - a tale of a generous spirit and a secret… that lets that generous spirit do the best for those with little means. - 5 stars
The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter- Complicated, sad. - 4 stars
Caryatids = This one is totally about sex, even detailing the act - a boy is changed by nano tech into a woman and describes the emotions he feels differently. Interesting, but probably more to a male. Well written. - 4 stars
A Beginner's Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse -Depressing, sad and very true - 4 stars
Smoke City- Such unusual stories! The author is male, but he truly understands women, by this tale alone. - 5 stars
Vanishing Point- Very sad. A story of Great Loss. A statement on the state of our new generation of children. - 5 stars
The Language of Moths- An autistic girl learns to speak to her brother using surprising surrogates. Kind, insightful, deep and wonder-full. - 5 stars
June 22, 2013
Rarely do I read short story collections, but when I knew the author and had sat in English class with him, my curiosity reigned. Because the setting of many of the stories was where I grew up, it was a nostalgic stroll through my childhood at times. But, the setting was the only aspect tinged in nostalgia; the stories were sad, eerie, or even a bit creepy.
Here are a few of my favorites:
The Drowned Mermaid about a woman caring for a nearly drowned mermaid.
I loved Dead Boy Found, but I loved the full novel that it became as well!
The Barbed Wire Boy story stayed with me days after I read it. A story about a boy born in barbed wire struggling for acceptance. Beautiful!
I loved the metaphor and imagery in Map of Seventeen as a young boy finds his brother is dating a merman.
The Apocolypse survival guide made me giggle. Maybe the makers of World War Z should take note.
The final three short stories all left me with more questions than answers, but I like that in a book. It brings me back. And I can't wait to visit again!
Here are a few of my favorites:
The Drowned Mermaid about a woman caring for a nearly drowned mermaid.
I loved Dead Boy Found, but I loved the full novel that it became as well!
The Barbed Wire Boy story stayed with me days after I read it. A story about a boy born in barbed wire struggling for acceptance. Beautiful!
I loved the metaphor and imagery in Map of Seventeen as a young boy finds his brother is dating a merman.
The Apocolypse survival guide made me giggle. Maybe the makers of World War Z should take note.
The final three short stories all left me with more questions than answers, but I like that in a book. It brings me back. And I can't wait to visit again!
June 21, 2015
This collection of speculative fiction short stories is melancholy and haunting, with memorable characters and situations. Most end on a note of hope, even if that hope is that the pain the main character is suffering is now over. (I suppose "hope" defined that way is arguable, but still.)
My biggest problem with this collection is that very few of the stories resolved things. All except one or two of them left questions open. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but when it happens every single story, it gets a big frustrating. "OK, but why...?" "I see, but what actually happened?" "Um, right, but now what?" were my three most often-thought questions as I finished each story.
Four stars, then, instead of five. I need closure when I'm done reading, at least of some kind.
My biggest problem with this collection is that very few of the stories resolved things. All except one or two of them left questions open. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but when it happens every single story, it gets a big frustrating. "OK, but why...?" "I see, but what actually happened?" "Um, right, but now what?" were my three most often-thought questions as I finished each story.
Four stars, then, instead of five. I need closure when I'm done reading, at least of some kind.
March 18, 2016
Having been captivated by Barzak's novels, I was burning to try his short stories. 'Before and Afterlives' is a beautiful collection where each story is as unique and gorgeously written as the last. It's a good introduction to the author's work and new readers will get a taste for Barzak's variety, magical realism and beautiful imagination.
Barzak's love for the world, in all its colour and complications, shines through every word he strings together. I'm never sure what to say at the end of Christopher Barzak book reviews because so far I've been left near speechless. If you haven't experienced his work yet, I can't recommend it enough.
Barzak's love for the world, in all its colour and complications, shines through every word he strings together. I'm never sure what to say at the end of Christopher Barzak book reviews because so far I've been left near speechless. If you haven't experienced his work yet, I can't recommend it enough.
August 8, 2015
Nice, even collection of fantastic stories grounded in real places. This definitely leans on the dark side, with post-industrial settings and some twisted ideas. Barzak plays with gender and sexuality as well, which is a total bonus in my book. These are worth reading, though I also think they are worth reading one at a time instead of like a novel where you read one after the other so they all blend in together.
June 4, 2013
These stories are sometimes spooky or haunting, and sometimes sad or angry, but always a pleasure. I loved the ghost stories particularly. The dark fantasies, like "The Drowned Mermaid" and "Smoke City" were also powerful, and the contemporary fantasies like "Plenty" were inspirational.
March 22, 2013
These are truly beautiful stories. Not only because the words flow like melted chocolate but because the supernatural elements illuminate humanity and reflect it back so very wisely. Such a pleasure that I'm sure to be reading all his other work.
June 3, 2013
Is there really a bar in San Francisco that is frequented by large numbers of displaced Y-towners?
January 15, 2023
This was a really good collection of short stories by Christopher Barzak. Lots of interesting, creepy, and unique storylines and characters. The last one was definitely my favorite!
December 4, 2023
Incredibly underwhelming stories with a lot of potential.
April 6, 2016
Well, I've never really read a short-story collection like this before. Most of these stories are quite dark and weird, while other ones are just really sad, but they all tend to fall more on the horror side of fiction with a bit of fantasy mixed in. My favourite ones were:
- "What We Know About The Lost Families Of - House" - which manages to both a satire about haunted house stories (especially the ones by Shirley Jackson) and it's own creepy tale
- "The Drowned Mermaid" - about a woman who adopts a stranded mermaid as her daughter after her own mysteriously disappeared years before
- "A Resurrection Artist" - about a boy who can't be killed and manages to make a business out of it
- "Map Of Seventeen" - a coming-of-age story about a girl who realizes that the new boyfriend of her brother might not be entirely human
- "Dead Letters" - about a murdered young women's imaginary friend who roams the streets looking for her
- "The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter" - about a young girl who helps her dad to find and catch ghosts
- "Smoke City" - about a mother who is leading a double life in the real world and a mysterious place called "Smoke City"
- "Language Of Moths" - probably the strongest story overall, about an autistic girl who learns to communicate with her brother via various creatures of nature
None of the stories are really scary (and I didn't expect them to be - horror as a genre is just so much more than cheap frights) and some of them work better than others (some were too short, really vague and without further explanation), but all in all this was quite a nice, diverse collection.
- "What We Know About The Lost Families Of - House" - which manages to both a satire about haunted house stories (especially the ones by Shirley Jackson) and it's own creepy tale
- "The Drowned Mermaid" - about a woman who adopts a stranded mermaid as her daughter after her own mysteriously disappeared years before
- "A Resurrection Artist" - about a boy who can't be killed and manages to make a business out of it
- "Map Of Seventeen" - a coming-of-age story about a girl who realizes that the new boyfriend of her brother might not be entirely human
- "Dead Letters" - about a murdered young women's imaginary friend who roams the streets looking for her
- "The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter" - about a young girl who helps her dad to find and catch ghosts
- "Smoke City" - about a mother who is leading a double life in the real world and a mysterious place called "Smoke City"
- "Language Of Moths" - probably the strongest story overall, about an autistic girl who learns to communicate with her brother via various creatures of nature
None of the stories are really scary (and I didn't expect them to be - horror as a genre is just so much more than cheap frights) and some of them work better than others (some were too short, really vague and without further explanation), but all in all this was quite a nice, diverse collection.
May 3, 2013
This was interesting. The cover work is beautifully done. The stories are original. This reminds me of nothing else I have read. I'm not sure I am the best judge to review this since it was so different. I will say it is artistic and creative. I don't think it is my style and was a bit beyond what I would look for in a series of stories. If a reader is looking for something thought provoking and different this book is a great pick. The writing is well done. It's a bit dark and twisted, but in an interesting fashion.
Disclosre: I won a copy of this book (the collection of short stories) on goodreads, but the opinions are my own.
Disclosre: I won a copy of this book (the collection of short stories) on goodreads, but the opinions are my own.
January 1, 2014
This anthology comprises tales of the ghosts, spirits, and those who are not-quite-there. The writing is lush, evocative, imaginative without being over-the-top. Some of the stories veer towards the Horror side of the Speculative Fiction spectrum ("What We Know About the Lost Families of _ House","Dead Letters"), while others are joyful and full of hope ("Plenty"). My favorites were "The Ghost Hunter's Beautiful Daughter" and "The Language of Moths", which I absolutely loved - what a wonderful film that would make!
July 6, 2016
These stories are pointless. They go nowhere and the writing isn't worth the journey.
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