3.5 stars
When I read this book's description I was really intrigued. A collection of short stories that explores the body sounded interesting. I was even more interested in I read that one of the stories was about a linguistics professor (like me). But, in the end I couldn't see the theme of 'human and animal body' as a throughline across the stories in this book. In some stories like the one about the girl and the guinea pig you can clearly see the "animal body", but in some stories like the last one you can't see a connection - is the physical presence of a body description enough to say it address human bodies?

I think this book only improves as it progresses, the best short story is certainly the last one about a failed date and how your view in life changes once you find "the right one". While I was excited to read a story about a linguistics professor, this one is a bit superficial and it seems a bit unfinished for me. There are a couple of stories that I wish I could know more about the characters (what happened to them before this event? how did this unfold?) but I guess this shows how interesting the characters are.

An oddly satisfying collection of quirky short stories.

The upcoming anthology delves into the peculiar and melancholic, with themes of surrealism and dark humour woven throughout. Characters navigate intricate relationships with all their imperfections on display. Even though the stories are short, characters are well crafted and very dynamic. Chang's idiosyncratic writing style immediately captured my attention, painting vivid and unforgettable scenes. Chong's writing style skilfully elicits a sense of awareness within the reader, a knowledge that there is something not quite revealed, hovering just beneath the surface. A perfect book to pick up and read one story at the time, as they are all thought provoking in their own way.

Highly recommended by respected short fiction authors, this release is sure to captivate readers when it arrives in stores next month.

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Arsenal Pulp Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)