Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century

By: Kim Fu

Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Samara Naeymi, Gary Tiedemann, Jeena Yi

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

In the 12 unforgettable tales of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, the strange is made familiar and the familiar strange, such that a girl growing wings on her legs feels like an ordinary rite of passage, while a bug-infested house becomes an impossible Kafkaesque nightmare. Each story builds a new world all its own: A group of children steal a haunted doll; a runaway bride encounters a sea monster; a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly control the passage of time; an insomniac is seduced by the Sandman. These visions of modern life wrestle with themes of death and technological consequence, guilt and sexuality, and unmask the contradictions that exist within all of us.

Mesmerizing, electric, and wholly original, Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century blurs the boundaries of the real and fantastic, offering intricate and surprising insights into human nature.

©2022 Kim Fu (P)2022 Random House Audio

Eerie, strange and beautiful

It’s one of the best short story novels I’ve read. The stories are vivid and well narrated. The the writing Is beautiful and evoking

Fascinating & Darkly Engaging

What a fascinating compendium of tales, a reminder that the short stories are magical. As with all collections, I enjoyed some more than others, but they are all unique and inventive.

it hooks you

I have to say that I didn't love every story, but it usually takes me several weeks to finish an audio book. I finished this in a week. Well worth the read.

Into itttt

Weird dark, funny. Good stuff. Performance was also very good and matched each story. Read it!

Masterfully Original and Compelling

This collection of short stories is edgy with a hint of erotica. I found the author to be a gifted storyteller! The content is clever and thought provoking; illustrating a modern perspective. I loved it!

Strong, Though a Bit Uneven

Kim Fu's "Lesser Known Monsters of the 20th Century" is a strong, albeit somewhat uneven collection of short stories. Fu is at her best in the stories that tone down the DeLillo-like cultural critique, and simply focus on the strange events that confront her characters. Personal favorites included "Sandman," "Scissors," and "Twenty Hours."

Fascinating speculative fiction, excellently read

I loved the daring and interesting, and yet relatable, provocations for each story - occasionally similar to Black Mirror in style, these stories investigated our relationship to technology, to each other, and to the strange and surreal in the everyday. The readers were stellar - the perfect balance between emotion and story.

For fans of Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone

Consider my rating more of a 3.5 if anything. This is a worthwhile listen, especially it you think of yourself as a fan of the aforementioned TV shows. Some of these short stories are bangers, especially the first one that you hear in the preview. a couple of others are also pretty good, but lean so heavily into Stranger Things-esque settings that I've had to double check if they actually take place in the early 00s when I was a kid or if the entire title of the collection is a misnomer.

The other stories all present an interesting premise that has some sci-fi/supernatural angle, but they either overstay their welcome just a little bit or just feel like a bit of a drag to listen to at times. Not all, but some and your mileage may vary.

Ultimately, I think what I don't like about these least interesting stories is what makes the better ones stand out. Each is read like a theatrical performance piece of sorts. This works great when characters are interacting with other characters but gets too drawn out and enters a realm of experimental prose at times in the audio audiobook format when the main character is narrating to themselves.

Overall. despite my seemingly harsh rating, I'm still going to recommend this one to those who have read this review this far. If you're someone wistfully nostalgic for weird period pieces about..um, girls starting their peripds or haunted dolls and metaphors for growing up. These stories particular are worth experiencing. if you're also someone deeply interested in bleak futures, these stories will also be for you.

In fact, the final story sort of combines both of these into a synergy of sorts - one obviously heavily inspired by the phenomenon of people losing their sense of taste during Covid-19. The main character is one of many in her generation who gets fixated on the nostalgia for the taste of food while her daughter and her peers have largely forgotten about what the big deal was and have moved on to whatever lies ahead in their future.

it's a great conclusion and tying together of the collection's themes and motifs, but...the performative prose just doesn't do it for me.

BLAH

Blah, a couple good stories nothing exceptional or noteworthy just so so difficult to finish