The Goth House Experiment

September 15, 2023
A collection of stories by an intriguing young writer. The stories that comprise Sindu's latest book are engaging and energetic, written with a charismatic narrative voice that seems capable of leading the reader just about anywhere. In the collection's first and best story, "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc," a professor makes her TikTok debut as both her marriage and her health seem headed toward implosion. Then she gets an email from a student: "Dr. B! Saw the video! I know you didn't ask, but if you thought a little more about lighting and composition, you could really be killing it." In other stories, a boy one day sprouts wings from his shoulders; a woman finds solace from the early days of pandemic lockdown--and her wife--in brewing beer; and a man marches obliviously toward his own death, which is foretold in the first sentence. It's an intriguing collection, but not an entirely satisfying one. Aside from the opening piece, the stories seem to skim the surface of emotion while ignoring the depths. Likewise, in story after story, Sindu poses questions about gender, race, sexuality, and colonialism, among other things--but fails to interrogate them deeply. "Wild Ale" and "The Goth House Experiment" both have endings that feel abrupt and unearned, even somewhat clich� in their bombastic violence. "Miracle Boy" has a bit too much overlap with Sindu's last book (Blue-Skinned Gods, 2021) as it wonders what might happen if the divine were to be made manifest. As a whole, the book feels somewhat skimpy, and taken one by one, the stories feel as though Sindu were taking shortcuts. Here's hoping that next time, Sindu digs deeper. An engaging but ultimately unsatisfying collection.

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Starred review from September 1, 2023
In this exhilarating story collection, Sindu (Marriage of a Thousand Lies, 2017) explores how people ostracize and condemn others without seeing their deeper similarities or shared experiences. In the explosive "Dark Academia and the Lesbian Masterdoc," a millennial professor creates a TikTok account to respond to ignorant trends but finds herself rapidly losing control online while neglecting her own life changes. In a brief reimagining of Mrs. Dalloway, Sindu writes from the character Daisy's perspective as she enters England for the first time. In other stories, Amit tries to find connection in the wake of his divorce and the Boston Marathon bombing, and with tensions heightened during quarantine, Cam and Adria become irritable with each other as screaming protesters drive by their neighborhood each day. In the title story, David moves into the old Victorian house he inherited in hopes of finding inspiration for his poetry. Sindu's characters feel misplaced in society and often find their cultural, racial, or sexual identity rejected as they try to blend in. This brilliant and timely collection unveils how chaos erupts when people refuse to listen to each other, causing experiences meant to unite us to tear us apart.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.