Parenthetical.net

On a walk through the English Downs, the author discovers the ruins of a house, and in it, an old chest. When he breaks the lock, he finds that it contains the effects of a fellow photographer named Isaac Wilde — including phonograph recordings, on which Wilde told the story of a very strange archaeological expedition in 1889…

The story reminds me of the Cottingley Fairies (as I’m sure it’s meant to). This is one of those books that goes to great lengths to convince you that it’s a record of actual events that happened to the author, complete with perfectly-rendered fairy artifacts and “antique” photographs. (I couldn’t stop gazing at the suit of armor made from shells, complete with a helmet, shield, and axe, and imagining the tiny warrior who would wear it.)

The Ellwands have constructed an absorbing world, the catalog of a museum exhibit that never was. Nothing resolves neatly (or at all, really), but if you like to drown yourself in mysterious worlds, you will love this.

Also reviewed at A Fuse #8 Production.

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