The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

2016

In this collection of short stories, Ken Liu masterfully weaves together tales of technology, family, culture, and identity. The titular story "The Paper Menagerie" brings to life the emotions that paper tigers and rabbits can convey, as a young Chinese-American boy struggles with his bicultural heritage and painfully discovers the true meaning of his mother's creations. In "The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary," a technology has been created which allows people to witness the atrocities of the past, but when uncovered it raises ethical questions that the inventors struggle to answer. "Mono No Aware" explores themes of sacrifice, loyalty, and cultural identity as the last of a great society journeys through space and grapples with the knowledge that he is the last of his kind. With great care and skill, each of Liu's stories takes the reader on a journey through the beauty, pain, and complexity of human emotion and connection, leaving a deep impression on the heart and mind.