Bora Chung is quickly becoming one of my favorite short story writers. This is the second collection I’ve read of hers (“Cursed Bunny” was outstanding), and I was instantly reminded of how interesting her writing is.

Chung is able to easily create these worlds (often futuristic and dystopian) that truly draw me in as a reader. Sometimes stories that lean heavily on science fiction tropes can make me feel disconnected or bored, but Chung is able to keep me glued to every sentence. She also has this unique gift where she can infuse her stories with this incredible pathos that makes every story super moving (even when talking about a robot). My favorite example of this in “Your Utopia” was a story called “A Song for Sleep” in which an AI-operated elevator falls in love with an old woman in the building who has Parkinson’s. It’s so heart-wrenchingly sweet and insanely creative. I think Chung also succeeds when she provides little plot twists in her stories. I won’t name those ones to avoid spoilers, but I was frequently surprised by the direction of some of the stories. Other favorites included “Maria, Gratia Plena” and “The End of the Voyage” (a creepy, modern take on a zombie takeover).

There were a few stories that verged a little too much into the horror genre for my taste. Some scenes got a bit graphic. Chung is adept at writing this kind of content, but it’s just not my thing. There were a few stories that seemed to move a bit slower than others (namely the title story), but overall, Chung’s writing is wild and wonderful.

4 stars

*Free ARC provided by Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review*