This amusing short collection of stories came my way a few months ago, and I should have reviewed it much earlier. But you’ve likely all read why I’m so behind…so I won’t reiterate the reasons here.
Stories in Parallel Realities are brief, and all centred around The Village. The key to the stories is in the subtitle: The Mundane Reimagined. Looking at the lives of office workers through a satirical lens, author JC translates the everyday happenings of an office into something a bit wilder, a bit darker. This satirical voice is maintained consistently throughout the collection, although some stories are a bit more predictable than others.
A perfect book to have stashed in the loo (as the author suggests in the Amazon description), my only caveat about Parallel Realities is this: don’t read it through from cover to cover in one go, or the comedy may wear a bit thin. I’d also suggest the collection is perfect for reading a story at a time while hanging on to the overhead strap with one hand and fending off the crush of commuting bodies in the train car with one’s knee: the tone fits that reality perfectly.
Four stars to an amusing look at modern office and city life. Reading it made me very glad I took early retirement!
marianlthorpe.com 