![]() ![]() ![]() Mike Russell’s writing style is extremely matter-of-fact, perhaps aiming for a sense of magical realism. One notable exception is the narration in ‘The End of the Pier’, however, this story comes across as more-or-less nonsensical, and as trying to be odd for the sake of it, rather than actually achieving any particular goal. Each time we enter a new short story world, we are presented once more with the same point of view, simply with a different name attached to it. The ‘mother’ in ‘Insensible Susan’ does not read any differently from, for example, the ‘diarist’ in ‘The Diaries of Sun City’. Though, indeed, we readers are presented with twenty different situations, which would indeed be strange situations to find yourself in, they are presented in the same way, with the same author voice coming through despite apparent changes in narrator. ![]() Possibly the greatest issue this collection faces is the similarity in all the stories. That is not to say that there is nothing good about this collection, or Mike Russell’s writing generally there are peaks – such as the repeated image of the individual being the whole world – as well as troughs. ![]() Promising readers mind-expanding, otherworldly, unique stories, the collection sadly does not deliver. Nothing Is Strange is a very apt title for this short collection of short stories. ![]()
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