Stim
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A perfect bookclub pick. Per the official description, “This insightful and eye-opening collection of essays, fiction and visual art showcases the immense talents of some of the UK's most exciting writers and artists - who just happen to be on the spectrum. Here they reclaim the power to speak for themselves and redefine what it means to be autistic.” As such the pieces range wide in both format and feel. I do think this is a book to read physically, as I couldn’t appreciate any of the visual art on my black and white kindle. Luckily, the essays and short stories were more than worth it on their own. Almost every piece either made me pause to think after reading, and/or I deeply enjoyed reading. I made brief notes on each piece immediately after reading, and the phrase ‘fav so far’ was repeated more often than usual. There was a piece that reminded me of
Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying in its writing style, a ghost story that scared me enough I’m still relieved I didn’t read it at night, and a defamiliarization story that I read at least half of before figuring out I wasn’t reading about aliens. I don’t want to give more detail to any as the slow process of discovery in each was one of my favorite aspects of the book, but I would say this collection ranks among my favorite anthologies.
While I really enjoyed Stim, it wasn’t a favorite for everyone in my bookclub. It did lead to great discussion of the various stories, and I think the ideal would be for a group that meets fairly regularly to go through one story at a time to read and discuss, as each deserves full attention. Additionally, while each individual story is excellently crafted, reading them back to back can be jarring - the book will shift from nonfiction essay to horror story to a series of impressions. Each piece clearly belongs in the collection, but there’s little synergy to be gained from reading it all in a single session. Instead take the time to read and appreciate each individually. To match this mood I paired the book with some tea and my homemade pumpkin bread, a social snack meant to be savored along with deep conversations with a good friend.
