Mothers and Other Monsters by Maureen McHugh
#84 in my book challenge for the year, Mothers and Other Monsters was recommended at Blog of a Bookslut. It is a collection of speculative short fiction by McHugh, a much-awarded speculative fiction writer who has formerly published novels. There are stories about Alzheimer’s, ghosts, parents and children, other worlds, and werewolves. What is most impressive about this collection is its strong writing across a huge variety of settings and topics. I usually prefer novels to short stories, but this collection kept me engaged, and better yet, it made me think.
The collection included excerpts from two of McHugh’s novels, Mission Child and Nekropolis, the former of which I’ve read. I liked but didn’t love it when I did; I remember it as distant and chilly–not emotionally engaged. Reading the segment, here, though, made me want to revisit it. I wasn’t as drawn in by the segment from Nekropolis, a more recent novel that got many impressive reviews.
November 3rd, 2005 at 11:25 am
i really loved this book also. just haven’t gotten around to writing about it yet.
November 3rd, 2005 at 3:41 pm
I had to request our library system to purchase this book. I worry that it will get little attention because it’s put out by a small publisher, and it’s fantasy fiction (though the adjective speculative is much more suited to McHugh’s writing). This is marvelously accessible prose–I would recommend this book even to people who don’t like fantasy, because the topics it deals with are so relentlessly human, no matter what spin McHugh puts on them.