The first section of this novel had me so, so hooked. I feel like I need to reread it so I can fit in how all of the pieces tie together. Perfect for lit-sci readers.

4.5- This is gong to be one of those books people either love or hate and while I thought I would be in the latter category, but actually I am in the former! Made up of 4 short stories that comprehensively come together to form one long story, we follow the lives of Edward, Annie, Stephanie, and Rose.
Taking place in a time where most animals are extinct but cities are still bustling, the first story introduces us to Edward, Annie, and their infant daughter, Rose. They live in a tiny apartment and are shocked when Annie’s friend from work comes for dinner and suddenly there is a terrace where their tiny closet used to be. There terrace only appears when Stephanie is there and while they don’t understand why, they love having the extra space. The second story introduces us to George, Lydia, and their daughter, Anne. The third story tells us Stephanie’s story and the last story is Rosie’s, a young woman whose job is to interview people who looking to move to colonies in space.
I can definitely see this book being used in an AP Lit class because of how deep it actually is. It got its start as a short story in Harper’s Magazine in 2020 and I’m so happy Hilary Leichter decided to expand it to something bigger.
Terrace Story is a little trippy, a little sad, and extremely well written. It will leave you feeling fulfilled and thinking about life in a different way. Thank you to Ecco for this advanced copy. This hit the shelves August 29th.

A gorgeously written and deeply felt, trippy journey through the emotional impacts of our earliest and most formative relationships. I loved this very special book and I intend to read it again someday.

Weird and wonderful. Not at all what I expected, but so much better. This book felt like it jumped genres with each of it's interconnected stories, it was a little bit contemporary, a little bit fantasy, a little sci-fi, and a lot surreal. When I first started it I was fooled in to thinking it would just be a charming story of a family with a magical door leading out to a terrace they didn't know was part of their home.... and then I got to the end of that section and started the next. Whoa, is this way, way more than any of that. Terrace Story will not be for everyone, I will certainly have to be thoughtful in who I recommend it to, but boy did I enjoy it, the final section especially.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I think I may need to re-read this again to fully understand everything. I got a little lost along the way. Nonlinear story with magical realism elements.

I met god and her name is Hilary Leichter.

Her debut novel, "Temporary," has been on my radar for what seems like decades (see: me buying/adding more books on my TBR when there is like 18282 books already). Then I saw this gorgeous cover and without knowing anything about it, I requested and I got approved!

I just need to know what she's on and where she's getting this insane amount of creativity from because I need to find a fix. My inner Kelly Link stan was absolutely going feral while I was reading this book because Leichter absolutely leaned into a wild premise and carried it over the finish line. This is one of those books that are going to be described as "not for everyone" and criminally overlooked by the big prize categories -- the Booker, the National Book Award, but hopefully not the Women's Prize -- simply because it's weird, wild, and absolutely fun to read while also telling one of the most heart-wrenching, emotionally honest novels I've read in a while.

In the four sections, entire lives are unspooled. Stephanie's lonely upbringing brought on by the sudden death of her sister; Annie and Eddie's complicated relationship with her, as well as the entire backstory surrounding Annie's life, and how their daughter Rose came into existence. It's an example of a short story being expanded into a novel done exceedingly well. Done in a way that is powerful and so aggressively well-written and beautiful and I was gasping, and highlighting so much on my Kindle.

Thank you endlessly to HarperCollins and Netgalley for access to the ARC! <3

This book is really special. There are some books I read and immediately decide I should suggest for my book club. But some books that would be a great fit for my book club I will never recommend- not because they wouldn't find it interesting and evocative or provide lots of conversation, but because I couldn't bear it if someone hated it and told me about it. This is that sort of book! It is technically not a novel, but four interconnected stories which I am sorry, do not constitute a single narrative. That said, I absolutely loved this. I loved how real the characters felt, and how the puzzle of how things worked was explained and not. Mostly I loved how this deals with love and loss and blends the banal of real life with the magic of what could be in a really interesting way. Five stars, and I wish I could read it for the first time all over again.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an E-arc of this book. The following is my honest opinion*

I loved the way this book was presented. It was like sitting on a balcony, people watching, and during the time spent there you were able to see some stories play out. Hilary Leichter really gives a voice to some themes ( sadness, loneliness) that typically are shied away from.

Definitely would recommend

Thanks to Ecco Books for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. For full disclosure, I attended college with the author 🤓
Four interconnected stories (Terrace Story, Folly, Fortress, and Cantilever) make up this quirky short book. Themes of family, love, loss, and size are explored. I don’t think I’ve read anything else where I’d say “size” was explored, but with the help of some magical realism, one character has the ability to increase the size of physical objects which leads to interesting thoughts on the effects of size, in addition to the ethics of using the power. I liked stretching my mind (hah!) to try to grasp this, along with its connection to the rest of the stories.
I found one story not as well fused with the others, but that could have been me reading it too quickly along with the non-chronological arrangement of the stories. The book is just 202 pages, but I found myself pausing and letting ideas marinate in my mind before I moved on in the book. It was a good companion for my weekend train trip to NY/NJ/PA.

🍋 a fresh-squeezed review 🍋

happy pub day to hilary leichter’s enchanting TERRACE STORY

TERRACE STORY begins with a couple and their young daughter struggling to make ends meet in a small apartment. when they unexpectedly find a peaceful terrace in their closet, they reap the benefits until realizing this peculiar glitch has severe repercussions.

what follows are interconnected vignettes on a variety of characters all struggling with loneliness and plagued by longing in a world riddled with questions of belonging.

the magic is in how leichter approaches these universal human emotions. she plays with the rules of time and space to evoke nostalgia and memory. she blurs lines between fact and fiction to illustrate how, really, relationships already exist in this gray purgatory.

in other words, leichter is a master at taking ordinary emotions and wrapping them into a surreal parable, wonderfully simple and absurd. her prose is smooth and affecting, ensuring this short novel in no way sacrifices impact.

if you know me at all, you know i’m a superfan of leichter’s first novel, TEMPORARY — and i can confidently say she’s done it again!

TERRACE STORY is a book not meant to be explained but experienced. i highly recommend succumbing to the expansive architecture of leichter’s world — you’ll leave heartbroken and optimistic all at once.

4.5/5 ⭐️

*thank you @eccobooks @netgalley for the advanced copy*

I enjoyed the weirdness this had. It's not quite a novel-in-stories - things are slightly too connected from story to story to exist entirely on their own, but this has four parts that exist on some level of periphery of one another. It's magical realist, though when the magic wears off, things get very real for its characters. There's a charming strangeness to Leichter's world, and I enjoyed this time in it.

Leister's writing in this collection of four short stories will leave you spell-bound. The collection explores the search for connection and what individuals do once they find it. Features a small amount of magical realism and a few futuristic type events. Terrace Story is hard to put down and leaves you wanting more. I received an advance review copy via NetGalley.

Title: Terrace Story
Author: Hilary Leichter
Publisher: Ecco
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review:
"Terrace Story" by Hilary Leichter

My Sentiments:

'Terrance Story' was an interesting collection of short stories about different characters that explore concepts of 'familial, romantic love, loss, extinction, and death and just what it means to exit.' These stories will bring in magical realism, fantasy, and some science friction as this author gives the reader a challenge as 'one's notions of love, identity and the future of the past.'

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

All I have to say here is WOW. I've read (and taught) the short story this book was born from many times, as well as her first novel Temporary, and I was so, so curious as to how Leichter was going to expand it out into a full-length novel. Stephanie from the initial story is the main character here, and I was very into exploring her more as a character (loved seeing her backstory). The book reads like a modern-day fable on our spaces, our desires, and the ways our lives can expand and contract to suit them. No plot spoilers, part of the delight of this one is coming to understand the structure and how the pieces come together! Another great, short novel from Leichter.

This was my first book by this author, so I didn't know what to expect. I knew it was outside of my comfort zone, but I decided to give it a chance anyway.

At first, I was very confused and had to reread a few parts to understand what was happening. Although it's a short and fast-paced book, it's important to pay close attention to every detail to avoid getting lost in the interconnected stories, different generations, and magical elements.

Overall, it was a nice read with a beautiful message.

Thanks to Ecco for the ARC! Opinions are my own.

I am glad I read the New Yorker magazine review of this book before starting it because it helped orient me in the right direction. This is so original, I have never read anything quite like it. The stories are longer than a typical short story but not quite novella length. I loved the callbacks to previous stories and the ways the narratives intersected across time and space (literally). It can get a little confusing but my approach is to just go with the flow and let it be confusing. Leichter’s prose is beautiful, elegant, and memorable, I look forward to reading her backlist.

I wanted to like this book more than I did.
I liked the whimsical idea of opening a door and a terrace appears. A magical extension.
I didn’t like most of the characters, especially Stephanie. Why did she make Anne disappear??
No, this one was not for me.

Really liked this one! This is very surreal and magical realism-esque which isn't a genre I tend to explore in but this has really tipped me into that field. I've had other Hilary Leichter books on my TBR and this has really solidified her as an author I want to explore more. Really engaging but easy reading, a mystical plot, and some quirky stuff all in one!

Normally, I’d wait to write a review on something I just finished because I’d want time to sit and comprehend. With “Terrace Story,” I can’t wait. I’m legitimately bursting with thoughts and praise for this novel.

To summarize, “Terrace Story” is told through 4 interwoven tales, each a love story in their own right and in relation to one another. These are BIG love stories though, alright?! And not like romcom love stories - although there are definitely elements of that, too - but galactic love stories. Stories that traverse time and place and people. This book is actual magic. I wanted to live inside it, but also was happily overwhelmed by sitting outside of it.

Liechter is brilliant here. Her characters are real, the way they interact with one another so pure and loving and funny. The way she writes romantic love and dialogue in this book had me craving the same kind of humor and intimacy for my future. The way she wrote heartbreak was equally devastating and yearning and honest.

It’s not only a series of stories about romantic and platonic love, but one of self-love as well. That love can be found in any environment, in any circumstances, together or apart. Maybe that sounds sappy but that’s not the way Leichter writes it. Her versions of love are earnest and lived in and longed for.

Damn, this book is gorgeous. The cover is gorgeous, the prose is exhilarating, the stories are heartwarming and wrenching at the same time, but in the best way.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟no notes, no alterations, a perfect novel.

Thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for the ARC!

What a weird, quick book! Extremely surreal and told through 4 interconnected vignettes, this felt a bit like a strange dream.

The issue with any sort of short story collection or structure like this is that it’s rare for every part to be equally as good. Parts of this worked really for me, but others were a huge drag. The first one grabbed me attention and the surrealism was used in such an interesting way, but the second one completely lost me. The magical surrealism/sci fi element was a fascinating idea, but I’m not sure if I totally *got it*. Maybe I’m just not smart enough for this books or wasn’t in the right head space!

I can see others enjoying this a lot more than I did, but I’m still glad I read it. The writing was very compelling, and I can some Emily St. John Mandel parallels. I’d still be very interested to read more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco books for the e-ARC to review!