Miracles and Conundrums of the Secondary Planets by Jacob M. Appel
My rating: 4/5 cats
i have finally come around to enjoying short stories (hi, alan!) but i still do hate reviewing them. and unfortunately, i used up all my creativity on the last book of short stories i reviewed, so i’m at a loss.
i liked this collection slightly, only slightly less than Einstein’s Beach House: Stories, but it’s still an excellent read. like e.b.h., this one is also only eight stories long but the stories are of the “stick with you” variety, so it doesn’t feel flimsy.
the cover is composed of visual touchstones for the stories within, even though there are only seven images, and i’m not sure which story the beakers or the thermometer are meant to connect to. but since a picture speaks a thousand words, and several pictures speak exponentially more words, i am going to go with a picture-based review because otherwise i’ll get all bogged down trying to review each story separately which is not going to help me get through this giant stack of “to be reviewed” books i have cluttering up my windowsill. but i will select one or two representative lines for each story, for those of you who like words.
Miracles and Conundrums of the Secondary Planets
Vegetarianism was not an issue on Red Ziggy’s home planet, where organic molecules were absorbed from the atmosphere through the skin.
Phoebe with Impending Frost
“Trust me,” I assure her. “I’m a climatologist.”
Invasive Species
“It’s good practice for you too, Mama,” says Celeste. “This way you won’t be so lonely when I leave. You can just pretend I’m in the clock.”
The Resurrection Bakeoff*
She thought I was crying because our time together loomed so short, not because I had used it so poorly.
The Orchard
That’s why I prefer to focus on the present. If you have one good day, nobody can take that away from you.”
The Grand Concourse
She’ll be one tough baby. If I decide to keep her, that is.
Measures of Sorrow
“You can’t use the word transgression on a date. You sound like Reinhold Niebuhr.”
Shell Game with Organs
At seventeen I would have traded a lung for a blow job, but at forty-one a kidney for love seems like a risky venture.
it’s another great collection from an author who is really making me crave short stories. how far i have come…
* my favorite, if you’re asking
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