AJ Dunn Reads

  The (Other) You By Joyce Carol Oates  4 stars.

  Seven Empty Houses By Samanta Schweblin  5 stars!

  Bliss Montage By Ling Ma  4 stars.

  Just After Sunset By Stephen King   4 stars.

  Homesick for Another World By Ottessa Moshfegh A collection of short stories exploring more of the same ideas that appeared in Moshfegh's previous two novels. The main ideas I come away with in these poignant, often humoress, stories is that she is showing us the worst of humanity, our greed and baser natures, the things we do to or think about others and ourselves that we hate to admit to. She forces us to examine ourselves and our own prejudices. Through these readings we can feel above others, however false that is, which in itself forces us to face our own selfishness and dark places. I'm really enjoying Moshfegh's writing. Their is a depressed nature to them, but their is also hope and a light at the end of many of them. But not everything comes out all right in the end,. Such is life, and she shows us that. It is a mirror. 4 stars.

  Four Past Midnight By Stephen King   A collection of four long form stories. In "The Langoliers" a plane leaves California bound for Boston and experiences as time shift. Several sleeping passenegrs wake to find everyone else has disappeared, leaving behind bits and pieces of their belongings. Those who wake must figure out how to land the plane, and what they discover when they do is horrifying. They have to get back to their own time in one piece. In "Secret Window, Secret Garden" a divorced writer is menaced by a man claiming the writer plagiarized his story and he wants the writer to admit it. When Mort, the writer, goes about proving the story was his own, a series of calamities is visited on those he knows, with the visitor appearing to be hell bent on being right. Mort's mind starts reeling with who the visitor really is. In "The Library Policeman" Sam Peebles borrows a couple of books from the library to use in giving a speech. When he fails ...

  Things We Lost in the Fire: Stories By Mariana Enriquez Things We Lost in the Fire is a collection of short stories set in post-dictatorship Argentina. Through social criticism, they explore the boundaries of a return to democracy, economic instability, poverty, drugs, violence against women, and criminal pollution through the horror lens. These stories takes place on the borders of the comfortable and the vulnerable. They are sinister and dark alongside the mundanity of everyday life. Argentine history and culture are explored in this horror mostly realistic, though sometimes with hints of the supernatural. Like most horror, the scariest parts are those perpetuated by humanity where the known becomes the unknown. This is a string collection and exposed me to a part of the world I never think about. The writing is confident with a palpable sense of anxiety on every page. The characters sometimes appear peripherally in other stories besides those they featured in, in unexpected a...

  Searching for Marilyn Monroe: Parables and Other Animals by Pae Veo My BookTube friend Pae Veo was kind enough to send me a signed copy of his book a few weeks ago. After much anticipation, it finally arrived! This is a collection of stories and parables that explore hope and loss of hope, imagination, isolation, failure, addiction, and moral dilemmas. It is a creative exploration of the modern condition. Two of the stories in the first section were standouts for me: "Searching for Marilyn Monroe" and "The Song of Erebus." "Searching" asks, "Is there room for hope in life?" and, "The only ones who ever truly give up are the ones who never had anything, in which case, what is it they are giving up? It is not giving up, it is simply accepting." Both of these sentiments resonated with me and my own journey through life. "The Song of Erebus" had a strong religious vibe for me as a reader, and I identified with it on that level -...