[HJ8]⇒ Download The Sea Beast Takes a Lover Stories Michael Andreasen 9781101986615 Books

The Sea Beast Takes a Lover Stories Michael Andreasen 9781101986615 Books

Download As PDF : The Sea Beast Takes a Lover Stories Michael Andreasen 9781101986615 Books

The Sea Beast Takes a Lover Stories Michael Andreasen 9781101986615 Books

Having read one of the stories from this book (The King's Teacup at Rest) in The New Yorker, I really looked forward to reading Andreasen's other work. This adeptly written collection more than lived up to the promise.

The book expertly mixes some of the hallmarks of my favorite authors – the imaginative worlds and empathetic humanism of George Saunders, the bizarre and occasionally jarring humor of Thomas Pynchon, and the complex, sometimes-loathsome characters of Ottessa Moshfegh. While the subject matter and style vary from story to story, the through line is a voice that remains fresh, energetic, and compelling.

What really sets this work apart is how each of the stories slowly unfolds a new world around you. None is similar to the last, except in how they all manage to throw the reader slightly off balance. Because of this, it’s not exactly a breezy read. Each sentence requires your full attention, but the reward is well worth it – a fascinating, imaginative work that challenges the reader to think about the world in new ways.


Tags : The Sea Beast Takes a Lover: Stories [Michael Andreasen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>“Andreasen breathes new life into familiar tropes via the ingenuity of his storytelling.... the refreshing stories in this debut collection are full of delicious detours.” –</b> <b>Publisher's Weekly</b> </i>Dazzling and delightful,Michael Andreasen,The Sea Beast Takes a Lover: Stories,Dutton,1101986611,Fantasy - Contemporary,Literary,Short Stories (Single Author),Fantasy fiction,Fantasy fiction.,Science fiction.,Short stories,Short stories, American,Short stories.,AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY FICTION,American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +,FICTION Fantasy Contemporary,FICTION Literary,FICTION Short Stories (single author),Fiction,Fiction-Short Stories (single author),FictionFantasy - Contemporary,FictionShort Stories (single author),GENERAL,General Adult,United States,stories;literary fiction;sci fi books;science fiction books;short story collection;short stories;magical realism;aliens;metamorphosis;supernatural;science fiction;fantasy;collection;time travel;humanity;paranormal;imagination;amusement parks;mortality;superstition;future;generations;ancestors;family;religion;faith;alien encounters;rulers;kingdom;protection;sacrifice;science fiction and fantasy;fantasy novels;fiction;novels;fiction books;literature;long story short;short story collections,magical realism; aliens; short stories; metamorphosis; supernatural; science fiction; fantasy; collection; time travel; humanity; paranormal; imagination; amusement parks; mortality; superstition; future; generations; ancestors; family; religion; faith; alien encounters; rulers; kingdom; protection; sacrifice; literary fiction; sci fi books; science fiction books; short story collection; stories; fiction; fiction books; long story short; literature; short story collections; science fiction and fantasy; novels

The Sea Beast Takes a Lover Stories Michael Andreasen 9781101986615 Books Reviews

I can say I loved it. Some stories more than others, but all eleven of the short stories will make you double-take on what you thought you just read.

Here is my inner-monologue while reading each story
What an imaginative story. I wonder where the author is going with...wait, WTF? That's deep...the author isn't going to go there, is he? Oh, snap...he did.
I guess I would call it soft-bizarro...or Black Mirror-esque... Take a read of the blurb and you'll get an idea of the fantastical nature of the stories.

Not only are the stories thought-provoking, the writing is amazing with a poetic cadence in some stories. Andreasen takes the reader on a voyeuristic adventure of his characters. Some you'll be glad you witnessed, some will make you uncomfortable...but you will turn the page, unable to look away.

4 "headless" Sheep
In this collection of eleven fantasy tales, the stories range from the outer limits of reality to almost horror. The strangeness of the stories draws you in and highlights the interactions and emotions of the characters. In the first story, the family is preparing a ritual to get rid of grandfather by putting him in a box and lowering it into the ocean, a metaphor for warehousing old people in nursing homes.

The story of Jenny highlights the frustration of one sibling having to care for another. Jenny was born without a head, but is still remarkably alive much to the frustration of her brother who must care for her. In another story a ship full of sailors is being dragged down by a sea monster who has decided to mate with it.

These stories a witty and elegantly told. This is not a quick book to read. Although the stories are short, they require your attention to each sentence because the writing is packed with meaning. This is a collection for anyone who wants to be challenged by views of another world.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.
This is a wildly entertaining collection, open to enjoyment in whatever fashion suits you.

Do you like to work for your metaphors? Is the local custom of sinking old men into the ocean in sealed containers, and the fanfare that accompanies the event, a metaphor for putting dad in an assisted living facility? Is alien abduction a stand in for a regrettable extra-marital affair? Does an amorous sea beast grasping and slowly sinking a sailing ship really represent an overly obsessive and tiresome lover? Is Andy really ready to explode, or is he going through puberty? Is a headless girl the ultimate special needs child? Can time travelers be more funnymen than Feynman? Darned if I know, but feel free to discuss the matter amongst yourselves.

Or, do you like witty authors who subvert narrative form and toy with story telling conventions? Post-postmodern, with maybe an extra post in there. In each tale we play mix and match with tone, mood, and point of view. Word choices and dialogue drift from formal to archaic to colloquial in order to keep the reader off balance and tease out the artifice and craft behind the writing. It is anarchic and anachronistic, (in one story, literally). Are we being mocked as readers; is the author mocking other authors; is the author confessing his own doubts about his own choices? I don't know. I also don't care because it's all fun and it's all undergirded by a generous sense of humor. I'm glad Andreasen isn't an angry young man, because his angry stories would probably be singularly unnerving.

Putting that aside, at the very minimum this is a rich buffet for the lover of elegant one-liners, deadpan throwaway observations, and the bracing or arresting description. His digressions and parentheticals, alone, make the book worthwhile. Andreasen seems to have mastered the tiny telling detail or comment or bit of business that brings everything in a story into sharp relief. If you are a highliter/underliner type, well, you're going to end up with a very marked up book.

I like playful. I like elegant. I like an occasional emotional ambush. I like a daring and inventive craftsmen. I liked and admired this book.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I highly recommend this incredible collection of short stories. Each story is a completely consuming world of stunning imagery and beautiful prose. The story that affected me the most was the morbidly dreamy, 'The King's Teacup at Rest.' Do yourself a favor and read this beautiful book.
This is as bizarre collection of stories that are so strange you wonder, at first, what they are trying to accomplish. The imagination exhibited, however, is extraordinary, and each story reveals something beautiful, subtle and moving about the characters. They are weird, poetic, beautiful. Read them.
Having read one of the stories from this book (The King's Teacup at Rest) in The New Yorker, I really looked forward to reading Andreasen's other work. This adeptly written collection more than lived up to the promise.

The book expertly mixes some of the hallmarks of my favorite authors – the imaginative worlds and empathetic humanism of George Saunders, the bizarre and occasionally jarring humor of Thomas Pynchon, and the complex, sometimes-loathsome characters of Ottessa Moshfegh. While the subject matter and style vary from story to story, the through line is a voice that remains fresh, energetic, and compelling.

What really sets this work apart is how each of the stories slowly unfolds a new world around you. None is similar to the last, except in how they all manage to throw the reader slightly off balance. Because of this, it’s not exactly a breezy read. Each sentence requires your full attention, but the reward is well worth it – a fascinating, imaginative work that challenges the reader to think about the world in new ways.