Disruptions : stories
Steven Millhauser
12/15/2023
This collection was my first book by Millhauser and I liked it a lot. He has a unique viewpoint, mostly 1st person narrative and the scenarios he creates are quite bizarre. The story “After the beheading” is, as many of his stories are, set in a community. This one is beset with problems with crime and for a solution they contract a local shop, known for the quality of their work, to build them a guillotine which they then use on a fellow citizen convicted of torture and murder. However, the impact of the guillotine goes far beyond the intent to deter crime. His use of precise and taught prose builds new worlds in just a few sentences, and most of the stories have rather unusual outcomes. If you are looking for some well written prose which takes you to some strange places, this is a good starting place. From my local library, 270 pages.
