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ohmyvisage's review
4.0
Wide collection of stories revolving not only around what we perceive as extraterrestrials, but also the feelings of alienation experienced by the people already on earth.
Some of the stories are misses, little sketches that strain under the weight of the few pages they are already on, but others are masterful little stories that are almost parable like.
It's a slim tome, so definitely worth a read
Some of the stories are misses, little sketches that strain under the weight of the few pages they are already on, but others are masterful little stories that are almost parable like.
It's a slim tome, so definitely worth a read
ceelpayne's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
spenkevich's review
4.0
The two meanings of the term ‘alien’, a foreign national and an extraterrestrial, merge together in Nigerian-born E.C. Osondu’s award winning short story collection, Alien Stories. Writing both sci-fi stories and immigrant narratives, the gap between the real and the fantastical begins to close with the extraterrestrial stories functioning so strongly as metaphors for immigration and colonialism until you stop wondering which definition of ‘alien’ is intended in each story. Osondu’s writing is crisp and creative, working well in both traditional narratives as well as more experimental stories told as advice columns, focus groups and more. These stories are built with empathy and understanding and their delivery manages to avoid being heavy handed while still being very direct and deadly sharp in their social critiques. Alien Stories is such an absorbing collection of stories that is just as much fun as it is devastating while witnessing Osondu addressthe stereotypes and fears around aliens while also showing the humanity and struggles of those displaced from home whether that home be a foreign country or a distant planet.
‘What he romantically called adventure, the other man must have seen as human cruelty and suffering.’
Using the same framing for foreign nationals as he does for extraterrestrials allows Osondu a lot of creative space to deliver powerful messages on race and national identity. The cold and often cruel treatment the alien visitors receive comes directly from real life and makes it clear that when Osondu writes about aliens he very clearly means Africans living abroad. In Focus Group, quite literally being the responses of a focus group asked about aliens who have landed to live among us, people loudly announce their white supremacy asking ‘why can’t they be white like everyone else?’ (othering any non-white human as well) or show their slippery-slope fears stating ‘the way I see it, it is only a matter of time and mankind will become aliens.’ The knitting of the real and the imaginative creates this versatile realm where a immigration story of a grandmother from the Red Planet resonates as a meaningful refugee story of our own times as in the story Mark.
These stories hit really close to home and seem so familiar, with men saying things about having no issue with aliens living on their planet but why this village and needing to find a paternalistic similarity with them before accepting them as people too. Other stories such as Spaceship look at religion and superstition as people trying to make sense of a universe much vaster than themselves and rationalizing good fortune and disaster as something beyond their control but pinned as causality to larger forces than their own existence.
The opening story, Alien Enactors sets the framing for much of the book. There is a [a:George Saunders|8885|George Saunders|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588859347p2/8885.jpg]-esque setup with a corporate amusement center for white people to watch folks from different cultures give a demonstration about their culture and then be rated on how enjoyable it was to the clients. The most successful actors discover that the highest ratings come from pseudo-authenticity that comforts the clients through (often racist stereotyped) cultural aspects presented in the white gaze. For example, the woman representing China gets low ratings for demonstrating traditional Chinese foods when the clients want Americanized buffets and reject any cultural artifacts that they themselves feel is outside of them. Through this collection we often see how ‘othering’ occurs because it is not something that seems to be immediately recognizable to the white American culture, and as in the story Visitors, the aliens are not accepted until they demonstrate traits that fit into this worldview, such as an African father having athletic aspirations for their son being what makes the white man bond with them being mirrored with the extraterrestrial father being concerned about their toddlers illness being the moment he decides they are allowed to occupy a space in America.
Another standout is Memory Store in which a client can sell their memories for cash. It is firmly established that the clients tend to be impoverished and usually immigrants and their ‘authentic’ memories are bought up by wealthy white memory tourists who want to experience something outside themselves. Which is a lot of really great critical analysis of imperialism and capitalism going on and I’d love to see this story anthologized for classroom purposes. It’s nearly flawless in a short few pages and connects with other stories like Debriefing which is a litany of do’s and don’ts as an immigrant in the United States and how to make oneself acceptable to the white culture.
Osondu has created something really magical and charming in this collection while still delivering a full-impact punch of social critiques and racial discourse. These stories are imaginative and inventive, coming is an awe-inspiring variety of storytelling and ideas while never moving far from the central theme of alienation. His vision reveals humanity in all its absurdities, terrors and traumas while still being full of heart, humor and optimism.
4/5
‘Everyone had a cavernous bag filled with hope; we were hopeful that we would cross the water, the barriers, and border guards, that we would make it to that place where the light shined.’
‘What he romantically called adventure, the other man must have seen as human cruelty and suffering.’
Using the same framing for foreign nationals as he does for extraterrestrials allows Osondu a lot of creative space to deliver powerful messages on race and national identity. The cold and often cruel treatment the alien visitors receive comes directly from real life and makes it clear that when Osondu writes about aliens he very clearly means Africans living abroad. In Focus Group, quite literally being the responses of a focus group asked about aliens who have landed to live among us, people loudly announce their white supremacy asking ‘why can’t they be white like everyone else?’ (othering any non-white human as well) or show their slippery-slope fears stating ‘the way I see it, it is only a matter of time and mankind will become aliens.’ The knitting of the real and the imaginative creates this versatile realm where a immigration story of a grandmother from the Red Planet resonates as a meaningful refugee story of our own times as in the story Mark.
These stories hit really close to home and seem so familiar, with men saying things about having no issue with aliens living on their planet but why this village and needing to find a paternalistic similarity with them before accepting them as people too. Other stories such as Spaceship look at religion and superstition as people trying to make sense of a universe much vaster than themselves and rationalizing good fortune and disaster as something beyond their control but pinned as causality to larger forces than their own existence.
The opening story, Alien Enactors sets the framing for much of the book. There is a [a:George Saunders|8885|George Saunders|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588859347p2/8885.jpg]-esque setup with a corporate amusement center for white people to watch folks from different cultures give a demonstration about their culture and then be rated on how enjoyable it was to the clients. The most successful actors discover that the highest ratings come from pseudo-authenticity that comforts the clients through (often racist stereotyped) cultural aspects presented in the white gaze. For example, the woman representing China gets low ratings for demonstrating traditional Chinese foods when the clients want Americanized buffets and reject any cultural artifacts that they themselves feel is outside of them. Through this collection we often see how ‘othering’ occurs because it is not something that seems to be immediately recognizable to the white American culture, and as in the story Visitors, the aliens are not accepted until they demonstrate traits that fit into this worldview, such as an African father having athletic aspirations for their son being what makes the white man bond with them being mirrored with the extraterrestrial father being concerned about their toddlers illness being the moment he decides they are allowed to occupy a space in America.
Another standout is Memory Store in which a client can sell their memories for cash. It is firmly established that the clients tend to be impoverished and usually immigrants and their ‘authentic’ memories are bought up by wealthy white memory tourists who want to experience something outside themselves. Which is a lot of really great critical analysis of imperialism and capitalism going on and I’d love to see this story anthologized for classroom purposes. It’s nearly flawless in a short few pages and connects with other stories like Debriefing which is a litany of do’s and don’ts as an immigrant in the United States and how to make oneself acceptable to the white culture.
Osondu has created something really magical and charming in this collection while still delivering a full-impact punch of social critiques and racial discourse. These stories are imaginative and inventive, coming is an awe-inspiring variety of storytelling and ideas while never moving far from the central theme of alienation. His vision reveals humanity in all its absurdities, terrors and traumas while still being full of heart, humor and optimism.
4/5
‘Everyone had a cavernous bag filled with hope; we were hopeful that we would cross the water, the barriers, and border guards, that we would make it to that place where the light shined.’
adam_nie's review
4.5
Osondu develops his theme of alienation brilliantly. I appreciate the diversity of style and structure which he manages to squeeze into this compact collection.
servemethesky's review
3.0
Enjoyed this eclectic collection of stories all centering around the theme of being “alien.” There’s a strong sense of voice throughout. I’m not sure if I’ve read such a coherently themed collection before! It felt a bit repetitive at times. Not sure if any of the stories will prove super memorable for me, aside from maybe “Memory Store” and “Debriefing.”
carolineohman's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
alicedroni's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Lots of really great metaphors about xenophobia. The stories all really pulled you in immediately, my only real complaint is that I felt like right when I fully got immersed in the concepts and plot the short was over. I wish it dug a little bit deeper and darker on a few of the concepts but I really enjoyed every page of this book.
claire_blanchard's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
woozles666's review
5.0
I'm incredibly lucky to have stumbled onto Alien Stories. This short story collection is truly a masterpiece with more depth than many I've read in recent years. Moreover, the array of stories is dizzying in its variety, but each one is unique and memorable in its own way.
The author cleverly plays with that various definitions of the word "alien" throughout the collection. The issues and themes they explore range from the morality of the death penalty to the structural racial discrepancy in treatment quality in the American healthcare system. These issues come across clearly due to the masterful storytelling and economy of language that E.C. Osondu uses throughout the book.
However, these stories also shine because they are wildly creative. Every single one stuck in my memory, so it's hard to even choose just a handful to highlight. One story involves an immigrant to America going to a "memory store" to sell his memories after he loses his job at the car wash. Another is about an alien ship that crashes into a town and is abandoned by its pilot, but suddenly the villagers start having a string of good luck in their lives. All of the stories provide a stunning cross-section of incredibly relevant themes, fable-like elements, and sci-fi plot lines.
No story overstays its welcome, either. Most of them are short and sweet, clocking in at just a few pages. However, you would be hard-pressed to not rip through them all at once since they are just so good. I'm going to be highly recommending this collection to anyone interested in short stories for a long time to come.
The author cleverly plays with that various definitions of the word "alien" throughout the collection. The issues and themes they explore range from the morality of the death penalty to the structural racial discrepancy in treatment quality in the American healthcare system. These issues come across clearly due to the masterful storytelling and economy of language that E.C. Osondu uses throughout the book.
However, these stories also shine because they are wildly creative. Every single one stuck in my memory, so it's hard to even choose just a handful to highlight. One story involves an immigrant to America going to a "memory store" to sell his memories after he loses his job at the car wash. Another is about an alien ship that crashes into a town and is abandoned by its pilot, but suddenly the villagers start having a string of good luck in their lives. All of the stories provide a stunning cross-section of incredibly relevant themes, fable-like elements, and sci-fi plot lines.
No story overstays its welcome, either. Most of them are short and sweet, clocking in at just a few pages. However, you would be hard-pressed to not rip through them all at once since they are just so good. I'm going to be highly recommending this collection to anyone interested in short stories for a long time to come.