. . . AND OTHER DISASTERS by Malka Older – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

. . . And Other Disasters by Malka Older
Published by Mason Jar Press on November 16 2019
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 201
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Malka Oldler’s insights into the human condition give these quirky stories heft and emotion, and I thought about them long after I had finished reading.

I really enjoyed Malka Older’s serialized science fiction story, Ninth Step Station, so when I was asked if I’d like to read her latest short story collection, I immediately said yes. And I’m so glad I did! These odd and thoughtful stories have some commonalities but they are also very different from each other. One running theme seems to be about our sense of place: how we fit in with the rest of the world; what happens when borders erupt and divide us? How do we adjust our worldview when faced with other worldviews that could be just as valid? What does it feel like to go home after living in another place for so long, and which place is actually “home”? Older explores these ideas and more with carefully constructed tales that offer up plenty of food for thought. The “disasters” of the title are also present in these stories, but even those manage to feel hopeful.

The collection consists of eight short stories and a handful of poems (I don’t normally read poems so I’m not going to go into depth about them here. Just know that they are beautifully written!). Older has also written a story called The End of the Incarnation, which appears in snippets between the rest of the stories, making it a rather fragmented but ultimately powerful tale about a future United States that fragments after states begin to secede one by one. Older explores the social, political, emotional and economic ramifications when a country is no longer united, and it eerily mirrors what’s going on in the U.S. right now.

Here are my favorite stories:

The Divided. This was my favorite story of the bunch! In this story, walls suddenly erupt out of the ground, dividing family and friends from each other. In one such family, a girl’s abuela is walking home from the market when a wall appears in front of her. She doesn’t have time to get out of the way, and so she literally becomes part of the wall, stuck up high with only a foot dangling within reach of her family. In this story, the walls act as an allegory for division and isolation. It was a sad look at how people cope with a changing world and an eerie look at the horrors of losing control over your environment.

The Black Box. A child named Sumi is given a device called a Lifebrarian, a small chip implanted in her brain that will record every moment of her life. When she is an adult, she hears about an upgrade called the Black Box, which will make the chip nearly indestructible, in the event that she has a violent death. This would allow her loved ones to see how she died, much like the black box in an airplane allows investigators to figure out how a plane crash came about. It’s a gruesome idea but also fascinating!

The Rupture. A girl named Exelle, considered an “extraterrestrial” on Earth, moved to another planet long ago. But now she has the opportunity to go back as an anthropologist, to study the dying planet and delve into the minds of those who still remain. The problem with Exelle returning to Earth is that it’s become a very dangerous place, and her mother doesn’t want her to go. Violent disturbances called “ruptures” pop up unexpectedly and have become a gathering place for young people, strangely enough. I loved this story that explored the idea of home, immigration and acceptance. 

Perpetuation of the Species. A woman named Cena wants to join an order called sajfam, where recruits must train for battle but also are required to be impregnated and give birth to a child before they are accepted. This was an odd story of one woman’s journey to become someone different and gain acceptance.

Tear Tracks. A first contact story about a woman who is part of a team trying to sign a treaty with an alien species on another planet. After meeting the Cyclopes for the first time (so named because they only have one eye), our main character Flur is surprised by how alien they are after all, despite having a vaguely humanoid shape. Nothing is really resolved at the end, although Flur does have an epiphany of sorts about the nature of grief.

Saint Path. The story is told from the point of view of an AI named Path, who has been programmed to learn emotions. After the death of Path’s “mother,” an inquest is held to decide whether or not Path’s ability to show emotions makes it real. I really liked this story and found it on the bittersweet side, as Path seemed to be trying to figure out its self worth.

The other two stories in the collection were just OK for me. The E-Mail Heiress was a story about the legalities of giving away someone’s email password after they die. And Candidate Y was a very short story about a political candidate who goes undercover to get insight into what people think of her. It was sort of funny, but too short to have a lot of impact.

Overall, I really enjoyed this collection! I love how original and fresh Malka Older’s ideas seem, and her no-nonsense, non-flowery prose style works perfectly with her quirky ideas and characters. Readers who love open ended stories that make you think will love this collection as well.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.