Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat collection of stories that are not necessarily fantasy!
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2020
Vandermeer & Vandermeer argue in the Introduction that fantasy is thought of as stories "that which is produced by a fantasy writer" or "that which I recognize as fantasy because of pop culture," but they want us to imagine a fantasy, not as a genre but a "set of tools" that incorporates the "non-real" and can be used by any kind of writer. As an example, the third story is "Signs and Symbols" by Vladimir Nabokov. It is one of the best short stories I have ever read and has a very complex plot. That said, by no means I categorize it as a fantasy and would rather call it fiction.