Author: Mike Russell Series: Standalone Genre: Short Story Collection Release Date: December 31, 2014 Book Length: 146 pages Publisher: StrangeBooks Review: 3/5
Goodreads Synopsis:
20 mind-expanding short stories.
Inspiring, liberating, otherworldly, magical, surreal, bizarre, funny, disturbing, unique… all of these words have been used to describe the stories of Mike Russell so put on your top hat, open your third eye and enjoy: Nothing Is Strange
My Review:
Thank you to the author for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this! It was a really quick, quirky read; I was so immersed in it that I actually didn’t realize there were 20 stories until looking back on the synopsis after I read it. It seems crazy to think about there being that many now because the whole thing just flew by.
Of the 20, my favourites were The Miracle, Barry & the Triplets, Lesley Visits the Barbers, and The Living Crown. If I had to choose my top favourite, I would say The Living Crown. In the depths of this story, free will is touched upon, and it was interesting to see the philosophy intertwine with the strangeness of the characters. The ending of that one also packed a punch for me which I value in every story—short or otherwise.
Reading this kind of takes you to a whole other world, one which was created by the author but also by your own mind filling the gaps that he leaves open for you, which is really fun. I would like to imagine that all of the characters in these stories, although each independent from one another, are actually living together in one strange town where all these weird things are happening and all these revelations are being made because of it; it’s cool to see it all come to life. Some of the stories I wish were a little bit longer, but other than that it was very well done and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good introduction to this genre!
Catherine 🙂
cat @ thisisoneforthebooks 