"I wake up later and I can’t pretend anymore."

February 27, 2024 7:44 AM

Maureen F. McHugh (previously) wrote two short scifi stories recently in which folks navigate modern uncertainty with a fantastical twist. In "The Goldfish Man" (2022), "Before everything went to hell I was making double vases." In "Liminal Spaces" (2024) (which feels in conversation with Ursula K. Le Guin's Changing Planes), "There was a broad corridor going off to the left that she definitely didn’t remember. It shook her out of her ruminations."

"The Goldfish Man" -- content note for COVID and homelessness -- feels in conversation with McHugh's own excellent, searing novella The Cost To Be Wise, which is is in part a critique of Star Trek's Prime Directive and noninterference policies like it.

posted by brainwane (6 comments total)

Those were good reads. Thanks, brainwane.
posted by flabdablet at 9:07 AM on February 27 [2 favorites]

"The Goldfish Man" was a good piece of writing. I didn't like "Liminal Spaces" so much, even though it the kind of idea that would usually appeal to me.

I don't think I have read anything by her before, I am going to have to look for more. The kindle version of "China Mountain Zhang" is cheap in the UK.
posted by antiwiggle at 9:57 AM on February 27 [2 favorites]

AAAAAAAAAAHHH end of Goldfish ends like that argggggggghhhh!
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:00 AM on February 27 [1 favorite]

antiwiggle, China Mountain Zhang is one of my favorite books and I hope you read and enjoy it! Let me know if you would like spoiler-y content notes/warnings.
posted by brainwane at 12:50 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]

brainwane, thanks, but I prefer to go in without knowing anything. I think the price is cheap enough that I can ignore my own (temporary) buy-nothing-but-essentials rule.
posted by antiwiggle at 1:22 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]

Quite enjoyed Limimal Spaces, thank you
posted by signsofrain at 5:04 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]