A review by deedireads
Alien Stories by E.C. Osondu
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
I recently discovered the fabulous indie publisher BOA Editions (which also happens to be headquartered in Rochester, NY, which isn’t too far from my hometown). I followed them on Instagram, and one of their posts about this short story collection caught my eye. Speculative, promising weirdness, and George Saunders blurbed it? Sign me up.
The folks at BOA were kind enough to send a copy my way, and friends, it didn’t disappoint. These stories are excellent. The feeling of finding a diamond in the rough reminded me of reading Imaginary Museums by Nicolette Polek, which was published by another fab indie, Soft Skull Press. (Indie presses are SO GREAT and doing important, amazing work, and you should follow and support them, please and thank you.)
Anyway, each of these stories uses the concept of aliens to make a larger statement about racism and xenophobia. There are baby aliens, and spaceships that get mysteriously left behind, and a focus group giving their thoughts and opinions on aliens, and a grandmother who tells stories about a red planet, and so much more. Osondu gives us so many metaphors and layers and smart, imaginative applications of speculative elements.
If you like to read great short stories that play with metaphor and craft and make you think about them long after you’ve finished reading, check this one out!
I recently discovered the fabulous indie publisher BOA Editions (which also happens to be headquartered in Rochester, NY, which isn’t too far from my hometown). I followed them on Instagram, and one of their posts about this short story collection caught my eye. Speculative, promising weirdness, and George Saunders blurbed it? Sign me up.
The folks at BOA were kind enough to send a copy my way, and friends, it didn’t disappoint. These stories are excellent. The feeling of finding a diamond in the rough reminded me of reading Imaginary Museums by Nicolette Polek, which was published by another fab indie, Soft Skull Press. (Indie presses are SO GREAT and doing important, amazing work, and you should follow and support them, please and thank you.)
Anyway, each of these stories uses the concept of aliens to make a larger statement about racism and xenophobia. There are baby aliens, and spaceships that get mysteriously left behind, and a focus group giving their thoughts and opinions on aliens, and a grandmother who tells stories about a red planet, and so much more. Osondu gives us so many metaphors and layers and smart, imaginative applications of speculative elements.
If you like to read great short stories that play with metaphor and craft and make you think about them long after you’ve finished reading, check this one out!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia