Two years after putting this collection on indefinite hold, I guess I should at least sum up how I felt about it (thanks Hirondelle and L for making mTwo years after putting this collection on indefinite hold, I guess I should at least sum up how I felt about it (thanks Hirondelle and L for making me realize I need to do that. See L's review here, which pretty much captured my own thoughts).
I was trying out podcasts when I stumbled upon the Lightspeed reprint of The Paper Menagerie. It was short, so I gave it a go. I did NOT expect it to bring me to tears. The generational and cultural trauma in that story spoke to me almost too personally--coming from the same cultural background as the author and the main character of the tale, I understand too well all the sentiments buried in those lines, sometimes even experience it myself. It was truly a story that touched my soul, and up to this date, it is still the only full 5-star rating I've given wholeheartedly on goodreads.
That was when I decided to check out this collection. To continue with my podcast trials, I listened to all the individual stories I was able to find online (Ken Liu's website provides a nicely compiled list of all his published stories and where to find them), which ended up covering about a third of this collection. But after finishing those podcasts... I again did not expect to start losing interest.
Here's the thing. Ken Liu is a master at telling a heartwrenching story that delves deep into familial bonds, cultural identification, and dark historical past. And he does that in just about every, single, story he writes. It's not necessarily a bad thing--people have their signature styles--but it does make a collection such as this one very hard to read. After a while, it gets repetitive, and after some more while, it even gets a bit heavy-handed, to the point that I can read a sentence and immediately recognize it's trying to make me cry.
My feeling towards Ken Liu's stories, at this point, is therefore complicated. I'm not judging this collection, nor his work in general, but I do need to take a break. So my suggestion for anyone new to this author is: read The Paper Menagerie first. The emotional impact would be much stronger if you're coming into his style with a fresh eye. Then, if you want to keep going, space out the rest of this large volume. One story at a time whenever you feel like a gut punch, and the slow savoring might just make you love it much more.
Individual ratings for stories that I finished, in order of how much I liked them:
The Paper Menagerie: 5 stars Good Hunting: 4 stars Simulacrum: 4 stars (the Lightspeed podcast was superb) Mono No Aware: 3 stars (LeVar Burton's live narration with orchestra background was cool) State Change: 3 stars The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species: 3 stars The Perfect Match: 3 stars...more
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