Guillermo Stitch is starting off strong. This and his more recent Lake of Urine showcase a singular ability to incorporate dark comedy, magical realism, and slick writing chops.
This short novel is easy to read, but deep enough to keep me thinking about the world and characters afterward. The onset of futurism is rather subtle. Literature has become an illicit thing in the setting provided. Technology is no more explained than it is today, but it has changed – the reader is made to intuit certain inventions from interactions and clever product labels. We rely on gadgets more than ever, and they have infiltrated every facet of our existence.
The commodification of our lives, corporate bureaucracy. The tendency for conformity. A fast-paced satire on these topics emerges amid a fiercely compelling scenario, within a skewed world.
With a gift for dialogue and the quirky turns of phrase, Stitch entertains and simultaneously comments on our dystopian leanings, our social insecurities and the disconcerting aspects of our probable future.
A remarkably compact and thrilling read.
L. S. Popovich 