I'm not much of a fan of Black Mirror style high concept sci fi (the near future is here, and guess what? It sucks!) but this #SamantaSchweblin novel about moving soft toys controlled by internet strangers looked for the longest time like it would avoid the cliches of the genre, and make space for something more conflicted and ambiguous. Until (if you can forgive very vague spoilers) the resolving chapters happened and it turns out that, yes, the near future does indeed suck after all, in exactly the ways you would expect. Very different from the incredible surreal short story collection I'd read from Schweblin previously. Translated by #MeganMcDowell . #Bookstodon @bookstodon

#FinishedReading this awesomely odd collection of short stories by Argentinian author #SamantaSchweblin , translated by #MeganMcDowell . The stories are very short and unfold in dreamlike fashion and often deadpan humour, with deep undercurrents of unease, violence, and symbolism. #Bookstodon @bookstodon