So surreal. ( )

A series of quirky short stories that I probably would not read again. ( )

Crabs:This story starts off slowly, but turns out OK.

Peeling:This story advocates some interesting life views but soon becomes a nightmare.

She Wakes:A very short story about an unfulfilled relationship.

Life & Death in the Southside Pavilion:One feels very sorry for the horses in this story.

Room No. 5 (Escribo):This is quite a good story and raises some interesting questions. Who is the smiling lady? Where did she come from? Why is she there? The answers to these questions are left to us to surmise.

Happy Story:A very interesting story about the desire for flight.

A Windmill in the West:The story of a lonely soldier's slow descent into madness.

Withdrawal:This was a great story about the owner of an antique store with macabre taste.

Report on the Shadow Industry:A surreal story about the sale of "shadows" and the problems and addictions that result. This story takes third place in the collection.

Conversations with Unicorns:Is death a gift or a curse? Sometimes the fact that we can help doesn't mean that we should... I give this story second place in the collection.

American Dreams:The story of one man's revenge on a small American town.

The Fat Man in History: This is my favourite story in the collection. An interesting experiment in social dependency.

Overall, these stories are a little odd (some are just downright weird) but they each have an important message to impart. Most importantly they are all enjoyable to read. In my opinion the three best stories in this collection are (in order) The Fat Man in History, Conversations with Unicorns and Report on the Shadow Industry. ( )

I'm not normally a fan of short stories but this collection was fantastic. The overall theme of the stories could be described as "speculative fiction" but there is an enormous variety here, showing great imagination on the part of the author.

The title story is about an Australian society where the overweight are outcasts, and tells the story of a group would-be terrorist fat men. It was thought-provoking and at points rather moving.

Pretty much all of the stories here are excellent. Other standout pieces include: "The Chance" is about another version of the future where ciitizens can take part in a lottery to win a new body and a group of upper class revolutionaries opt for ugly bodies and "Exotic Pleasures" about an alien bird who gives feelings of well-being to those who stroke it.

I've read some of Carey's full novels and didn't enjoy them nearly as much as this, so I would recommend to anyone, even if they aren't previously a fan of his work. ( )