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The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

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'The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories' by Ken Liu is a collection of short stories that range from fantasy to science fiction to historical fiction. The stories explore themes of technology, human emotions, Asian immigrant experiences, and cultural histories. Ken Liu's writing style is described as enchanting, thought-provoking, and emotionally affecting, with a talent for weaving traditional Chinese beliefs and cultural elements into his narratives.

Characters:

The characters in the stories often represent Asian cultural perspectives and navigate complex themes of identity, relationships, and emotional struggles.

Writing/Prose:

The author's writing style is characterized by its beautiful prose that evokes strong emotions and explores deep themes related to culture and personal identity.

Plot/Storyline:

The collection features a variety of plots that blend historical fiction, science fiction, and elements of magical realism, often focusing on cultural identity and the immigrant experience.

Setting:

The settings in the collection vary widely, encompassing historical, futuristic, and alternate realities, often reflecting rich cultural contexts.

Pacing:

The pacing of the collection varies, with some stories being more concise and others lengthy, facilitating in-depth exploration of themes and characters.
There is no definitive census of all the intelligent species in the universe. Not only are there perennial arguments about what qualifies as intelligence, but each moment and everywhere, civilizations...

Notes:

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is Ken Liu's first collection of short stories.
The titular story, The Paper Menagerie, has won several prestigious awards including the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.
The anthology contains 15 stories that explore themes of identity, memory, and culture.
Many stories in the collection reflect Liu's Chinese heritage and immigrant experience.
Several stories incorporate elements of science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction, showcasing Liu's versatility as a writer.
The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species is the opening story, presenting imaginative ways different species create and read books.
Mono No Aware is about a generation ship and reflects on cultural identity and heroism.
Good Hunting combines rural magic with steampunk themes in colonial Hong Kong.
The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary addresses historical atrocities and philosophical questions about memory and history.
The narratives often include heartbreaking moments, touching on loss, cultural clashes, and the immigrant experience.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include graphic depictions of violence, historical atrocities, torture, and themes of racism and generational trauma.

Has Romance?

Romance is present in a number of stories, although often it is not the central focus; relationships are explored in the context of broader themes like culture and identity.

From The Publisher:

Featured in the Netflix series Love, Death & Robots

Bestselling author Ken Liu selects his multiple award-winning stories for a groundbreaking collection-including a brand-new piece exclusive to this volume.

With his debut novel, The Grace of Kings, taking the literary world by storm, Ken Liu now shares his finest short fiction in The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. This mesmerizing collection features many of Ken's award-winning and award-finalist stories, including: "The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary" (Finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Theodore Sturgeon Awards), "Mono No Aware" (Hugo Award winner), "The Waves" (Nebula Award finalist), "The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species" (Nebula and Sturgeon Award finalists), "All the Flavors" (Nebula Award finalist), "The Litigation Master and the Monkey King" (Nebula Award finalist), and the most awarded story in the genre's history, "The Paper Menagerie" (The only story to win the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards).

Insightful and stunning stories that plumb the struggle against history and betrayal of relationships in pivotal moments, this collection showcases one of our greatest and original voices.

Ratings (22)

Incredible (7)
Loved It (8)
Liked It (4)
It Was OK (2)
Did Not Like (1)

Reader Stats (62):

Read It (23)
Want To Read (30)
Did Not Finish (1)
Not Interested (8)

2 comment(s)

Incredible
5 months

Really good Collection of SF Stories. Many of the stories combine science fiction, allegory, and history ( mainly Chinese) to create effective emotional stories

Below are some of the favorites lines from different stories.

From Story, Good Hunting

She wasn't exactly a friend. More like someone who couldn't help being drawn to because you shared the knowledge of how the world didn't work the way you had been told

Judging was the luxury of those who did not need to survive.

From Story, The Literomancer

Boys were simple, and fists could do the talking for them. The magic of words between girls was much more complicated.

From Story, The Regular

Sometimes you help a friend even when you disapprove of their decisions. It's complicated.

 
Incredible
6 months

I read this anthology slowly over the span of a few years, picking it up to read a short story here and there between some more dense novels. It was a lovely experience. Ken Liu is an incredibly talented author, and created magical worlds, heartbreaking situations, and tangible characters. From mysteries to steampunk to fantasy, he seemed to cover every genre. I laughed, I cried, I was on the edge of my seat. Highly recommended.

The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species: ★★★☆☆

All in all, this was one big info-dump. I did like it because the concepts were so interesting and the prose was so beautiful, but I'm glad it was short.

State Change: ★★★☆☆

Loved the concept behind this one. Liu does an amazing job with really subtle worldbuilding.

The Perfect Match: ★★★★☆

I really liked this one: the concepts, the characters, the theme. This had one of the strongest plots in the collection, and I could see it translating well into a longer YA novel.

Good Hunting: ★★☆☆☆

This is one of the few I disliked. It was just too weird, and, for me, the genres didn't combine well - there's a distinct shift in tone midway through, and I don't think Liu quite pulled it off. It's a shame that he didn't just stick to the first world he established, because I was very much enraptured with the beginning of the story (although I understand that he wanted to deal with a specific theme).

The Literomancer: ★★★★☆

I loved the idea of this one so, so much. Literomancy was so magical to read about! Unfortunately, I thought the monologues were a bit dry, and the ending was unsatisfying, but overall it was a lovely (and at times horrifying) little piece.

Simulacrum: ★★★☆☆

Meh. This was fine. Kind of weird. I didn't quite connect with the characters or the content.

The Regular: ★★★★★

A mystery/thriller with excellent characterization and some interesting technological twists, this was one of my favorites. Definitely a page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed watching the backstory slowly and naturally unfold, and it was wonderful to see everything come together full circle at the end.

The Paper Menagerie: ★★★★★

I cried. I loved this one so much....The story and backstory unfolds so effortlessly, and the characters are so grounded, that this is definitely one of my favorite short stories. I see why it won all the awards. (Side note: I watched Disney's

Coco right after reading this, and was struck by how they explore some of the same themes.)

An Advance Readers’ Picture Book of Comparative Cognition: ★★★★☆

The flashbacks were beautifully written and incredibly romantic. I did find the in-between bits a little dry, but overall this one was lovely.

The Waves: ★★★☆☆

Meh. I feel like the idea behind this (dealing with the relationship between time dilation, technological advancement, and the "next steps" in human evolution) was solid, but I didn't find the characters or story compelling at all.

Mono No Aware: ★★★★☆

I loved the integration of Japanese characters into the story itself, and each of the two timelines were incredibly engaging. The technology that was integrated was interesting, but more importantly served the story well. Bittersweet.

All the Flavors (A Tale of Guan Yu, the Chinese God of War, in America): ★★☆☆☆

This was just so

long. I didn't really care that much about the primary storyline, and I really didn't care about the interspersed Chinese fairy tales (they were just so dry). I got midway through this one then set the book down for over a year.

A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel:

The Litigation Master and the Monkey King:

The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary:

 

About the Author:

Ken Liu is an award-winning American author of speculative fiction. His collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. Liu's other works include The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms, The Veiled Throne, and a second collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. He has been involved in multiple media adaptations of his work including the short story "Good Hunting," adapted as an episode in Netflix's animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC's Pantheon, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories. "The Hidden Girl," "The Message," and "The Cleaners" have also been optioned for development. Liu previously worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on topics including futurism, cryptocurrency, the history of technology, and the value of storytelling. Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

 
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