Antisocieties - Isolation at its Finest
An intensely isolating read, I had to put the book down between stories to feel like I was a social being with a support system again. The cold and often simple way that Michael Cisco captures the essence of seclusion is incredible. From the first story Milking Cisco writes, "His father laughed inaudibly." Such a callous and unfeeling way to laugh, with no true happiness or warmth. I genuinely felt chilled from this story.
The story Stillville is one that I think everyone can relate to, as it pertains to wanting to go so deeply into routine, the status-quo of being alone, and the ease with which humans can habitually become 'still' and 'undisturbed' by change, love, and connections. A terrifying way to exist.
The book's namesake story, Antisocieties, encapsulates how much people think they want to be alone and often become the worse for it since humans are social creatures; the confusion and self-doubt that we feel when faced with others after being in our own minds. It so gently prods the psyche with small associations that are actually very big, "He enters the park, which slopes down to the water before him on all sides. A single person sits alone, centered on nearly every bench, all facing the water."
A sense of going mad is prevalent and wickedly disquieting in my two favorite stories in this collection - Saccade and (my most favorite) Water Machine.
Truly a masterpiece by Michael Cisco and another knockout published by Grimscribe Press. Anything Grimscribe puts out, I will read, knowing full well that I'm in for a cerebral treat.
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