Resurrections

by Ada Hoffmann

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This collection of short stories and poems by Ada Hoffmann traverses extraordinary universes packed with faeries, cyborgs, talking otters, punitive gods, lovestruck sea creatures, fossil hunters, extraterrestrials, and much more. Exploring themes of love and self-existence, community and otherness, and perseverance, Resurrections is a wondrous blend of genres and literary forms. In "Jenny's House," a young girl brings a slimy souvenir from a playdate gone wrong to show-and-tell. "Variations show more on a Theme from Turandot" is the story of a devout slave's struggle with a stubborn, ruthless princess, replayed as an epic opera every night. In "Transitional Chords," an unmotivated conservatory student finally connects with music when he falls victim to an otherworldly voice. "Harmony Amid the Stars" chronicles a spaceship's inhabitants' descent into madness through a cleaning lady's diary. "I Sing Against the Silent Sun" is about the unbreakable bond between a fugitive and his ship's AI. Each universe contains an intricately crafted history, cast of characters, places, and paradoxes. From layered magical realms to beauty supply storerooms, Hoffmann brings often-overlooked characters and perspectives to life and lets their unfettered reality expand our imaginations. Resurrections is a glimpse into the spectrum of human existence, flitting from world to world in Hoffmann's spectacular style. show less

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Magus_Manders 180 reviews

In the however-many dozen stories that are retold over and over through time, I have always found the death, decent, and rebirth one of the most powerful and adaptable. In their collection of poetry and short stories Resurrections, Ada Hoffmann brings us down into many different types of underworlds and, hopefully, brings us back up in the end.

I was already passingly familiar with Hoffmann and their Weird space opera Outside trilogy, though its been burning a hole in my TBR. That has moved up the list a few places after Resurrections. In the story notes (which I love in my collections, btw), Hoffmann talks about selecting the pieces for this collection around a loose theme of "'underworlds' - how we descend into them, how we try to show more find our comfort each other within them, and how we eventually find our way back out." The main characters in most of these stories are explicitly or implied to be autistic and queer, and I highly recommend going to Hoffmann's website where they run an Autistic Book List to expand your reading horizons.

The alternating stories and verse are sometimes dark, often challenging, and with endings that stretch the definition of "happy". They run the full range of Hoffmann's decade-long writing career, moving from fairy tale to space opera to steampunk paleontological adventure! The latter, 'The Scrape of Tooth and Bone', might be one of the highlights for me for its sense of fun and creativity. Likewise, the two stories set in the world of The Outisde were fascinatingly strange - and very much encouraged me to finally get to the novels! I suspect I will be revisiting 'Variations on a Theme From Turnadot' as well. What started, according to Hoffmann's note, as a fix-it fic for the Puccini opera has become here a strong story of power disparities and storytelling. 'I Sing Against the Silent Sun', written in collaboration with the excellent Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, blew my socks off and broke my heart - after that, I couldn't even remember which of the earlier stories fell flat for me - whatever the case, they were worth it for that fantastic conclusion.

I was provided a copy of this book to review by Apex Books. show less

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