I like stories that are reflective and philosophical
342753
Every story in this book has its twists and turns. The ending of each may surprise you as much as it surprised me.

Although the stories are short, you may spend as much time in between each story as you want to think back on what just happened in the story. I like stories that are reflective and philosophical, and they are!

As a reader, I was able to easily map the characters to someone I met at some point in my real life. I'm sure you can too.

This book is highly recommended to someone who not only like short stories but also like thinking deeply.
1655292
I enjoy these kinds of stories very much and this book has some interesting ones in it.
1317204
Recommended by a friend who believes in the supernatural, I was nevertheless impressed with several of the stories within of children who remember intimate details of former lives.
246130
Every few pages I paused to acknowledge that this author has a brilliant mind for reflection. This is a book that asks for reflection. You can zip through the "story" and it will be enjoyable. Or you can reflect on the paragraphs and then it becomes an awesome read.
318421
Conservation of Shadows is a collection of short stories by Yoon Ha Lee. Like shadows, many of the stories are furtive in nature, requiring the reader to chase them from page to page. No two stories are alike. The point of view and tense often change, but there is a consistent theme of patterns and forms expressed through various artspoetry, music, calligraphy, art and dance. Lees imagination is not bound by these forms. The stories range from otherworldly, to an alternate history feel, to science fiction. All read a little like fantasy, though, with the repetition of the artful themes.

The entries that caught my attention were The Shadow Postulates, The Bones of Giants, Swanwatch and Effigy Nights.

Simply, The Shadow Postulates is a story of mathematics and love. A student searches for facts to support her thesis. Along the way, she takes lesson from life, and, in particular, her roomsister. She examines relationships and finds correlations between these and her research.

My favourite story would be The Bones of Giants. Tamim, the son of a necromancer, is on a quest to stop a sorcerer from destroying his world. He accepts the aid of another necromancer who teaches him how to animate and control the bones of giants. They ride the massive skeletons into battle, controlling their movements with gestures that can be captured and preserved by a form of calligraphy.

I found the setting of The Bones of Giants fascinating. It was a dark world, a shadowy place that felt like an in between. Somewhere beyond the veil of death. It could also have been a ravaged word. Lee gives only enough detail to breathe life into the grim landscape. Though the short story worked (for me), I would love to see the world expanded upon.

Swanwatch is set in a distant or alternate future. Various people are stationed in space and watch over the swanships, which appear on schedule only to disappear into a black hole. Its a journey to the final battle, though no one knows what awaits the armed and ready passengers. I got the feeling the swanships were full of people who were on their way to a chosen death. An end of life.

Swan is new to the station. She has been exiled there and is only allowed to leave if she composes a symphony for the swanships. She tries, despite the other residents attempts to convince her of the futility of the task. At the end of the story, she makes a sacrifice of her own.

The consistent themes of art, poetry and Asian lore colour Effigy Nights. A city is under siege and a man with a distinct talent is called upon to raise an unusual defense. Seran is a surgeon and a warden wants him to excise figures of legend from books. Cut them from the paper. The first is moving on the page, so he swabs the paper with a sedative before pulling out his scalpel. I found this process, and the imagination behind it, fascinating.

He frees the Saint of Guns from the page. I delighted in Lees description of her: She had paper-pale skin and inkstain hair The Saint begins to haunt him, as do the other effigies he raises. Though each of the figures last for only a short time, they manage to stall the occupation for a while. Then they run out of pages to cut. The end to this story is chilling and terrifying.

Conservation of Shadows is an absorbing collection. I was not able to read it in one sitting. Many of the stories require a little digestion, others patience and a quiet place to read as the patterns unfold and order themselveswhich is hardly surprising as Yoon Ha Lee is a math major.

Written for and originally posted at SFCrowsnest.
2814758
Reading Vonnegut is like looking at a reflection in two mirrors that are directly in front of each other.  But I like his stories and story telling.
3852499
For me, the author has achieved the primary aim in these stories in that she has suspended belief, so that readers find themselves transported to a different place and time. All the tales are different in their circumstances and the characters are varied and well-developed.
The imagery is good and the dialogue works in every case, quite simply because the writer is capable and understands her craft. There is a psychological theme running through the collection which will hold appeal to any who enjoy such a tale.
Why then have I rated the book with four stars if I believe the author is good? There is an indefinable something that must be in the narrative voice for me personally, but unfortunately it wasn't there. Perhaps the storytelling was a little abstract for me at times, or on occasion the plot felt extended.
It is possible to appreciate a writers skill without feeling an affinity for the work. Suffice to say that I believe these stories will find an appreciative audience because they are well written.
4116731
Many times we don't formulate our ideas thoroughly although we have them. This book makes me discover some philosophic ideas, many that I already though and others that I did not think, but I have the same opinion.
I like the author because his approach to life relevant aspects, are many times similar to mine. And when there are not, I feel enriched by the contrast of ideas.
4504406
A collection of stories about a series of protagonists -- predominantly but not exclusively male -- whom you may not wish to emulate but whose blunt honesty you will invariably appreciate. Most of these are tales of young men making bad choices as they sort out who they want to be and what (if anything) has real meaning in their lives. Many are told by an older, sometimes somewhat wiser, narrator remembering earlier times when things went wrong, and could easily have gone worse (maybe that's where the luck comes in). They are written directly, with an eye to odd and sometimes quite humorous details. I enjoyed these stories a lot.
769058
There are some wonderful stories with wisdom and insight and some stories that are just okay.  But overall I enjoyed reading all of them.
4587388
Chanel Earl's collection of short stories proved to be a delightful and worthwhile read. This slender volume contains five stories with central themes of grief, death, and dying. On the whole the stories in the collection hold together well. Her approach to her subject is not heavy-handed and I actually was left with a sense of lightness after reading this volume. The stories are refreshing and memorable. I would recommend taking time between stories rather than reading this collection in one sitting as I did. Her characters are complex but relatable and I found they lingered with me long after I set the book down. My personal favorite of the collection is entitled "Whole," which is a lovely and creative story about a couple whose love of mathematics is so great that they name their children after numerals and a father who comes to a new understanding of the world of numbers in his grief. I also thoroughly enjoyed the first story, "One Hundred Breaths" about a child coming to terms with the death of his father. I found "Lorelei Remembers" to be a bit too perfunctory and was somewhat disappointed with the ending. I had mixed feelings about "What to Say to Someone Who's Dying." I was taken in by the mother-daughter interaction but I had the sense the author was trying too hard with the symbolism and it didn't quite work for me. All in all, this collection is a fine debut for the author.
19595
It's good.  Would like more story and less philosophy (or more of the philosophy sifted through the story rather than the character's internal musings that tend to be stilted and rambling), but I'm now inspired to go tackle fixing the scooter in my backyard at least.
1106606
I really enjoyed the stories in this book.  Some of the stories in this book reminded me of the tv show the Twilight Zone and Black Mirror.
3410504
When I read the first story of this collection, I was not sure that I was going to like it - but with each page I read, I appreciated the author's perceptions more and more.  There is a calmness to her writing that belies the emotion and depth of each narrative.  The characters are well-drawn and none of the stories are ordinary.  It is a collection that I think needs to be read more than once, with a space of time in-between - one that will give new insights with each reading.  The only criticism I have is that there just aren't as many stories as I would like to explore.  A beautiful work.
2970673
The is my favorite selection of short stories to date. I love science fiction but Ray Bradbury goes beyond the genre to frame subtle human experiences. Within the first few pages of each story, I am gifted with engaging conversations and palatable details. Each story gave me a new experience to contemplate long after I closed my book (kindle), looking for the meaning beyond the end of the story. If your reading experiences seem flat and one dimensional, try this author. I plan to read some of his novels.
4375906
I have read this many times and with each reading I find it offering me more insight into my life. While the setting is a great adventure, there are philosophies that are an integral part of the story, philosophies which provide wisdom applicable to our own personal quests. However, as Paulo Coelho says  "Certain things in life simply have to be experienced - and never explained".
4303330
These stories are unique, philosophical, oddly shaped, opaque, and (paradoxically) illuminating.  At times, they operate like memory: seemingly capricious at the outset, intensely focussed later on.  I don't know of anyone else who writes quite like Gustafsson.