From the beginning, its classification as a story collection is rendered useless. This fabulist work goes beyond the experimental; it is simply an experience — unsettling, monstrous and lovely. The whole thing is so wild and irreverent to formal convention that not knowing what is going on feels perfectly fine ... These stories crawl into spaces that have no map, no doors, no clear way in or out, fiercely refusing to be grounded in any tradition at all.
Haunting ... It’s all pretty delicious, like mixed bags of candy with bonbons for every taste ... The tone of the entire endeavor: dreamy and awake, channeling a deep intelligence that marries both intellectual knowledge and some collective unconscious. A haunting, revelatory dreamscape.
While some of the stories fall flat, the nonfiction pieces, including the portraits of famous and ordinary people, are treasures. Here, Aridjis’ curiosity feels vast, her intelligence finely tuned to discover hidden connections, her playful, searching style capable of enlivening anything. Heady, marvelous work about the familiar and obscure.
