Shatterday
Harlan Ellison
Ellison has put together a fine collection of short stories in Shatterday, stories that run the gamut from straight-up science fiction to fantasy to horror to outright comedy and romance. One thing that remains consistent throughout the stories, however, is Ellison's focus on the darker side of humanity and aspects of humanity which we would prefer to ignore. Ellison's stories bring a dark tint to the everyday and use either slight or overt fantastic elements just as often as necessary, only overwhelming the reader in two or three stories and providing what is, if not the most coherent story collection, certainly many fine examples of the short fiction form.
The collection's leading item, "Jeffty is Five," is heartwrenching and, quite simply, a masterpiece. The tone shifts quickly from lighthearted nostalgia to outright despair as Ellison asks us to reconsider our attachment to the past. "Jeffty is Five" raises more questions then it answers and is simply in a league of its own. Thoroughly imagined and with a startlingly realistic tone throughout, the story reveals intricate parts of the human psyche without once trying too hard to impart its message.
"How's the Night Life on Cissalda?" is a bit sophomoric in subject matter (Ellison himself admits in his introduction that the story is primarily about "fucking"), but nonetheless provides an interesting take on human solitude in a collection filled with human interaction. Many stories ("All the Birds Come Home to Roost" and "All the Lies That Are My Life" are foremost among them) deal with more realistic situations but retain an air of the fantastic that separates them just enough from our shared reality to really provoke thought in the discerning reader. Ellison is not all doom and gloom, however (despite what "Flop Sweat" would suggest) and "Would You Do It for a Penny" is outright funny, if betraying a rather cynical picture of humanity. This cynical view is inherent throughout the collection but its author is mercifully more interested in probing the human mind than explaining it. Each story benefits from careful consideration and application and each reveals its truth(s) subtly enough to encourage careful reading. Each story falls into place and reveals another dark, hidden aspect of the mind. The collection is unsettling but briliantly so.
By branching out from traditional science fiction and fantasy, Ellison allows his talent to transcend genre and concentrate on his twisted tales and not-so-strange protagonists, who are in unreasonably close proximity to his readers. Though his introductions are often self-serving, they provide an interesting glimpse into the madness of his method and contextualize the stories in a way that adds to their mystique and power without spoiling their contents. The only stories in the collection that are in any way failures are "Opium," which is far too abstract, and "Shoppe Keeper," which takes a brilliant premise and leaves it tragically underdeveloped and vague. In both cases, Ellison has stumbled onto stories just as interesting as those that form his best fiction, losing one slight aspect along the way that limits their possibilities. Shatterday and "Shatterday," however, represent Ellison in top form; the collection is definitely worth pursuing for fans of science fiction, fantasy, and more realistic literature alike. Ellison's short fiction here probes the human condition in an unsettling way powerful for its uncomfortable proximity to reality.
Grade: A
Harlan Ellison
Ellison has put together a fine collection of short stories in Shatterday, stories that run the gamut from straight-up science fiction to fantasy to horror to outright comedy and romance. One thing that remains consistent throughout the stories, however, is Ellison's focus on the darker side of humanity and aspects of humanity which we would prefer to ignore. Ellison's stories bring a dark tint to the everyday and use either slight or overt fantastic elements just as often as necessary, only overwhelming the reader in two or three stories and providing what is, if not the most coherent story collection, certainly many fine examples of the short fiction form.
The collection's leading item, "Jeffty is Five," is heartwrenching and, quite simply, a masterpiece. The tone shifts quickly from lighthearted nostalgia to outright despair as Ellison asks us to reconsider our attachment to the past. "Jeffty is Five" raises more questions then it answers and is simply in a league of its own. Thoroughly imagined and with a startlingly realistic tone throughout, the story reveals intricate parts of the human psyche without once trying too hard to impart its message.
"How's the Night Life on Cissalda?" is a bit sophomoric in subject matter (Ellison himself admits in his introduction that the story is primarily about "fucking"), but nonetheless provides an interesting take on human solitude in a collection filled with human interaction. Many stories ("All the Birds Come Home to Roost" and "All the Lies That Are My Life" are foremost among them) deal with more realistic situations but retain an air of the fantastic that separates them just enough from our shared reality to really provoke thought in the discerning reader. Ellison is not all doom and gloom, however (despite what "Flop Sweat" would suggest) and "Would You Do It for a Penny" is outright funny, if betraying a rather cynical picture of humanity. This cynical view is inherent throughout the collection but its author is mercifully more interested in probing the human mind than explaining it. Each story benefits from careful consideration and application and each reveals its truth(s) subtly enough to encourage careful reading. Each story falls into place and reveals another dark, hidden aspect of the mind. The collection is unsettling but briliantly so.
By branching out from traditional science fiction and fantasy, Ellison allows his talent to transcend genre and concentrate on his twisted tales and not-so-strange protagonists, who are in unreasonably close proximity to his readers. Though his introductions are often self-serving, they provide an interesting glimpse into the madness of his method and contextualize the stories in a way that adds to their mystique and power without spoiling their contents. The only stories in the collection that are in any way failures are "Opium," which is far too abstract, and "Shoppe Keeper," which takes a brilliant premise and leaves it tragically underdeveloped and vague. In both cases, Ellison has stumbled onto stories just as interesting as those that form his best fiction, losing one slight aspect along the way that limits their possibilities. Shatterday and "Shatterday," however, represent Ellison in top form; the collection is definitely worth pursuing for fans of science fiction, fantasy, and more realistic literature alike. Ellison's short fiction here probes the human condition in an unsettling way powerful for its uncomfortable proximity to reality.
Grade: A
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