An odd but well-written set of short stories that usually weren't really to my taste. I appreciated the skill at work but rarely found them satisfying, perhaps because I'm just not familiar enough with the modern literate short story. Many of them seem to end hanging on a moment of quiet that can come off as ambivalent but is probably really intended to be subtlety.

I did enjoy a few stories, notably "Father John Melby and the Ghost of Amy Elizabeth" and "A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets." ( )

I really like Kevin Brockmeier's writing style. I like how he makes language feel like it is softly overtaking you and there is just nothing you can or want to do about it. These stories were just like that, all encompassing. I completely lost track of time while reading them.

I think my favourites were:

The Year of Silence - which felt almost like reading Jose Saramago.
The Human Soul as a Rube Goldberg Device: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure
Story - so much fun! One could easily get lost in this one for days.
A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets - such a great concept and so well realized. Loved the ending. ( )

Some thought provoking stories that occasionally felt a little overwritten (for me) but still wrestled with themes I liked -- death, forgiveness, alien visitation (maybe), trauma and babies. ( )

Original short stories that are both clever and heartfelt. ( )

i love Brockmeier's writing style, and for the most part this collection was no exception; the fables in particular I adore, along with the collection's eponymous story, the View from the Seventh Layer and the interesting the Air is Full of Little Holes. I don't know how the thinly disguised trekkie fanfic made it into the book - it was the only disappointing story in the collection and this (along with Andrea is Changing her Name which just fell flat for me) are the primary reason the rating is only 4 starts, and not 5. Overall - excellent collection, well worth the time. And read before bed, it inspires some interesting dreamscapes. ( )