“Pastoralia” by George Saunders

For the most part, I enjoyed the short stories in this collection. The author used a slightly off kilter world view to explore the misery of the human condition among the impoverished. 

Saunders is very good at creating very human thoughts among his protagonists. There is a huge dose of ugliness or misery in their stream of consciousness, and yet they often end up doing the right thing. One loser individual did not kick out his very weird sister, even though he was convinced she was inhibiting his love life. Another, who was a father himself, jumped into very dangerous waters in what he knew would be a fruitless, suicidal mission to save 2 little girls. And of course, the story of the 2 workers in a recreation of a prehistoric park was a gem in itself.

“Katabasis” by R. F . Kuang

 Even though it’s not her best writing, I enjoyed this book. Kuang’s descriptions of the 8 courts of hell, which were an amalgamation of various sources from various civilizations, and her descriptions of how magic works were quite interesting. And I liked the happy ending. Considering how long it is, I went through this book rather quickly.

On the other hand, the book often read too much like Kuang’s personal diary rather than as a work of fiction. And I found Alice’s motivations to be described quite unevenly. The jump from one perspective to another seemed so incorrect re what had been said previously that I felt I should reread the beginning to see how Alice’s motivation for seeking Grimes in hell at the cost of half her remaining life was actually handled. I didn’t bother.