Eileen W.’s Reviews > The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories > Status Update

the man who ended history - 5/5 so good

litigation master and monkey king - 4.5/5, similar theme as trans-pacific tunnel but hit different

trans-pacific tunnel - 3.5/5, an alternate history that's making a really obvious social (historical?) commentary, with the narrator's story interspersed with textbook/book excerpts + footnotes

all the flavors - liangzhouci reference! i love this poem
"We have been wrong to be drunk and asleep. We should be drunk and fighting."
different style/tone from the more sci-fi/speculative fiction stories
the ending hits hard because it's historically accurate

the waves - 5/5 i can't really explain it

picture book - 4.5/5, this is a promax version of the first story with actual characters

the paper menagerie - 5/5, so deservedly, makes sense that this is the eponymous piece, this made me cry it was good

the regular - 4.5+/5, it was really good but those like two paragraphs at the end felt too overt, I liked that this story was longer which really helps mitigate the issues i've felt with the earlier short stories (basically that they're too short and some ideas could have been expanded on more), or maybe it just helps me get into the rhythm of the story better

the literomancer - 3.5/5, is ignorance a crime? what is the cost of freedom? i dont really know how to feel about this one

simulacrum - 5/5, not 'creepy' in the strictest sense that i feel like most stories about this topic are, which was nice. ending was a bit confusing. (spoiler) does anna simulate her dad? i dont really get it

btw 4/5