Review Detail

To put it honestly, this book is complicated. In a very weird and enigmatic way. As it is a quartet of novellas, that were originally written on an iPhone.

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow by Daniel Nayeri is a collection of four novellas. Which include stories of retelling and remixes of classics, a very wide range of writing styles, and themes that tend to question mortality and identity. Following the sequence of the title, the book features a twisted western, a dystopian science fiction, a detective story with "wish police," and a romance from the perspective of death. All are unique in their own unique way.

Given the range of genres that Nayeri presented, I was a little skeptical as to how the novellas would read. They were each enigmatic to be both similar enough to fit together while still being their own pieces. Honestly my favorite had to be the rom-com from death. With the science fiction a close second. Nayeri expertly wove each story to their own tune and didn't dare miss a beat in bringing them all together.

From reading this, I have high hopes for reading Nayeri's other (and much longer) works. I mainly have my eyes on Everything Sad is Untrue as I've heard nothing but positive reviews for it. If Nayeri were to ever make another amazing collection such as this, I'll be the first in the checkout line to get my hands on it.