Cover image from Goodreads.com
This is a collection of short stories where the unifying thread is lack of connection, loneliness, and interacting with a commercialized world. Also, very meta in how the characters understand they are part of a fictional life.
The author has a flair for writing strangeness as if it were an everyday kind of reality, as if the character is able to walk into a TV show or game and interact with it as if it was real. The characters are also commonly lonely, or maladjusted in an inoffensive way. Having said that, there’s no pity for these characters. Perhaps because they know they aren’t the alpha, the most popular, or the best kind of person. That self-awareness makes it easier to identify with the characters.
The book is short, some stories only a few pages, and an easy read if you suspend your belief first.
Should Be Writing 