![]() Fu has stated that she aimed to “take the speculative ideas very seriously and at face value… asking what this character would do in this situation, without a winking eye to metaphor.” In truth there are moments when the metaphors become obvious, but Fu’s attention to character is unwavering. The collection contains twelve stories, ranging from science fiction to horror to literary absurdism. ![]() ![]() Actual bug-eyed beasts are thin on the ground Fu’s monsters wait just outside the frame, as patient and inevitable as daybreak. “The realm of pretend had only just closed its doors to us, and light still leaked through around the edges.” This motif of light spilling past an imperfect barrier defines the feel of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, the debut short fiction collection from acclaimed novelist Kim Fu. ![]() In ‘Sandman,’ an insomniac is visited by a mysterious hooded figure, who pours sleep into her by “the faint light that leaked around her drawn curtains.” In ‘In This Fantasy,’ the narrator disclaims that “I don’t have fantasies where I’m the young, cheating wife, the one rolling over a made bed, drugged light leaking past net curtains, pulled shut in full daylight.” In ‘Liddy, First to Fly,’ a group of adolescent girls react calmly to their friend sprouting wings from her ankles. ![]()
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