Catalog: 03/28/09
Here it is the last week of March and I'm just finishing up the February issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

"Catalog" is the third story by Eugene Mirabelli I've read and by far my favorite. It poses the question of what sort of alternate world an unhappy graphic artist would want to escape to. The answer ends up being a mixture of old short stories and catalog photo spreads.

John flits around from place to place (ad to ad and book to book sort of) much as the characters in "The Nocturnal Adventure of Dr. O and Mr. D" by Tim Sullivan (F&FS April 2008). The world he finds is a mixture of LL Bean, Edgar Allen Poe stories and the reading primers of "Dick and Jane" and "See Spot Run."

I liked the way Mirabelli imagined what life could be like if bodged together from the way we represent ourselves in print. It's fun, lighthearted and silly story. It was the perfect way to end the February issue.

My other reviews of Mirabelli's stories are:

• Falling Angel
• The Only Known Jump Across Time

See Eugene Mirabelli's home page.

Read other thoughts on the story at: The Fix, io9, Suite101, John's Reading, The Barking Dog, Kim Antieau and IRoSF.

fantasy science fiction magazine | fiction | short story | Eugene Mirabelli | 2009

Comments (0)

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Comment #1: Tuesday, March, 31, 2009 at 10:40:34

cbjames Thanks for stopping by Short Story Sunday. I hope you'll make it a regular thing.

I enjoyed checking out your blog. It's great to discover a new one.

Comment #2: Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 16:02:43

Pussreboots

I review at least one science fiction short story on the weekend so I will probably be back. I'm glad you enjoyed my blog.