The House of Untold Stories

June 21, 2021
Fifty “pocket-sized” microfiction stories show flashes of profundity but mostly drown in their own glibness in this gorgeously illustrated but scattered collection from Chiykowski, the creator of online microfiction project The Shortest Story. A lovely framing conceit that positions the tales as taking readers into “places half-remembered, half-forgotten, or fully imagined” and softly distressed photo illustrations clash with stand-up comedy–style vignettes that often collapse into punch lines, as in the oddly mean-spirited “Life Everlasting.” Chiykowski shows a flair for inventiveness, but lacks the stylistic range to pull off his far flung concepts, frequently revisiting themes and over-relying on the trick of literalizing metaphors. The resulting stories often conjure an initial sense of wonder that reduces to a mundane snicker by the final line, as in “Pull Down a Star.” The author’s at his best when gesturing at honest emotion, as he does in the zombie apocalypse short “The Bones Beneath,” but even the keenly observed insights of pieces like “The Anger Thief” can’t help but be undermined by an uncomfortable, shrugging joke. Devotees of Joey Comeau and Emily Horne’s webcomic A Softer World will feel at home with Chiykowski’s mix of gentle aesthetics, subtle surrealism, and brief bursts of emotion, but others will leave craving substance.