What a quirky, sneaky book this is! The mysterious Terrace was delightfully done and so unexpected. I think I might choose this as my bookclub's next read! It was so good and I was hooked from the very beginning!

Didn't enjoy this one as much as Temporary, but Leichter's style is consistent through both. Enjoyable but a bit disjointed.

<i> From the author of the acclaimed novel Temporary, an intimate exploration of time, a fable
Annie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a cramped apartment. One night, without warning, they find a beautiful terrace hidden in their closet. It wasn't there before, and it seems to only appear when their friend Stephanie visits. A city dweller's dream come true! But every extra bit of space has a hidden cost, and the terrace sets off a seismic chain of events, forever changing the shape of their tiny home, and the shape of the world. </i>

Terrace Story follows these four characters through time, space, and several interconnected stories that coalesce into one impressive whole. It’s filled with absolutely beautiful prose, delightful wordplay, references to extinction and death, and an overall engaging story that left me both moved and deeply unsettled. I can’t recommend it enough.

Thank you Hilary Leichter, Ecco, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Terrace Story
Author: Hilary Leichter
Source: NetGalley/Harper Collins
Publish Date: August 29, 2023

Terrace Story will be a favorite with readers who want to broaden their minds because, in this book, the author, Hilary Leichter, raises expectations with a book about time warps, where time can be expanded or condensed. The question becomes, when you take away from something, does it add or detract from something else? So that might be a little deep, but in this novel, there is a fine line between loss and gain, love and hate, lost and found, and time and space. It’s a unique reflection about how our actions today affect a world that occurs long after we are gone. I will not be able to explain this story entirely, but I will be thinking about this book for a VERY long time. I would highly recommend you read it. An amazing novella that ponders deep topics like love and death, and yet, in the end, love wins. Love always wins. #magical #time #space #memory #love #family #enchanting #mindbending #TerraceStory @hilsaphina @harpercollins
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Harper Collins, NetGalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: August 29, 2023.
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Terrace story is.a collection of several loosely connected stories. Interesting, a little surreal and abstract.

Terrace Story was a really interesting mix of stories that are interconnected. At times I felt uneasy reading this, but overall I appreciated the themes and the surreal nature.

Terrace Story was an interesting, abstract collection of three stories that interconnect in unexpected ways.

What a delightfully quirky premise! While the story wobbled a bit in its execution, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about the mysterious terrace, the wholly unexpected reasons behind its appearance, and the gift and curse of creating space. This would make an excellent book club selection!

This was completely unexpected. Four different stories that all come together in the strangest ways. It sent my mind for a loop and I had to go back and reread some parts to understand the chronology of the events. The book as a whole read a bit like a Picasso painting; all nonlinear and misaligned, but oddly enjoyable and satisfying. I think I’ll need a reread at some point, but I’ll give it a 3.5/5 stars for now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This was a weird collection that worked. Everything is connected and the science fiction/magic realism bent worked. I will say some of the stories dragged a bit. That’s the main reason for the 4 stars.

Full Review: Hilary Leichter follows four different people/places/periods, but you are going to see some names appearing here and there and realize the connections between the stories. I honestly went back and re-read the stories in a chronological order after the fact.

"Terrace" follows married couple Annie, Edward, and their newborn daughter Rose. The three of them are in another tight cramped apartment, but one night Annie's coworker Stephanie comes over, and the door which usually opens into a closet, opens into a beautiful terrace. Annie does tests and realizes that the terrace is never there unless Stephanie comes over and opens the door. Quickly she starts having Stephanie over all of the time, but there seems to be something dark regarding Stephanie that Annie feels, but can't articulate. And then....

"Folly" follows married couple George and Lydia. They seem happy, but there is an underlying tension between them about who wins and who loses. And Lydia who is pregnant with their first child starts thinking about death and feeling as if she's trapped between dying first or dying after George. The whole storyline is a little bonkers and drags a bit. It takes to "Cantilever" for you to find out what happens there. You can guess though.

"Fortress" follows a young girl named Stephanie who has an amazing ability that seems to invite tragedy.

"Cantilever" follows an adult woman named Rosie who works at a space station called Gravity One. An older woman appears who Rosie can't help feel a need to talk to while also thinking about her girlfriend Kyle who is far away at the moment.

Here is a novel that I think breaks a lot of molds. This is literary fiction, but it isn’t your ordinary literary fiction. This piece is semi-non-linear, but also ties together pretty completely. It is futuristic but still of today in many ways. All in all, Terrace Story is a very interesting work and I enjoyed reading it, regardless of its almost indefinable nature.

This did start a bit slowly for me, but in nature true to this novel, it wasn’t because nothing was happening. In actuality things start happening right away, but I almost hadn’t connected with the characters enough to care. As we make our way through Terrace Story, though, we are able to see the other layers of this story and as they come back together, it is really a cool tale that is woven for us. This story is cerebral, and contains much commentary on our society, while also giving us creative craftsmanship in simple language. The ending is satisfying and it is a unique journey throughout.

I would estimate that this book isn’t for everyone, as it reads as intellectual literary fiction but those that enjoyed Nothing to See Here, Ms. Demeanor, or even, I Have Some Questions For You (some of those creative, kooky, symbolic tales) should try this book out. A fun find!

Thank you so much to Ecco Publishing and Netgalley for this advanced review copy.

Yaaaassss! Loved this novel of four interconnected stories. This novel is poignant and very trippy. Almost any plot info would spoil the ride, but highly recommended.

I went into Terrace Story expecting a sort-of magical, whimsical, light novel, and that isn't what this was. But, I absolutely loved this book. I have not read Temporary by Hilary Leichter yet, but it's definitely on my list now. This was set up in four parts, so you get different perspectives, settings, and experiences but everything is connected. I think this is one of those books that it's best to go in blind. I really enjoyed Leighter's writing style, and I loved how my feelings about the characters changed throughout the book as I read the different perspectives. I definitely recommend this one!

I requested this book because I zoomed a book event where this book was touted as a great read. For me, not so much.

The nonlinear settings--4 interconnected stories.

"Annie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a cramped apartment. One night ,...they find a beautiful terrace hidden in their closet. It wasn’t there before, and it seems to only appear when their friend Stephanie visits." And so it begins. Stephanie's "powers' are quite interesting and make for unusual happenings.

Love, loss, life, death [much], funerals [and bagels], sadness, loneliness, parenting [or lack thereof], magic realism.

Two phrases:
"some views shows less than half of what needs seeing"
"gymnastically folded potato chips"

I liked the first story, not as much the second, or third and definitely not the fourth. Spoiler: it's dystopian--a genre I DO NOT LIKE.

Pros: a fairly easy, breezy read--more so at the beginning. Ok writing. And short [thankfully].
Cons: I did not care for any of the characters, My interested waned fairly early. The ending.

On the whole, not my jam, but many others raved

2.5, but rounding up to 3 because I'm in a mood.

Looking at the other reviews, it seems like I might be the only one who didn’t particularly enjoy this, sadly. It’s not bad I don’t think, I just think it’s not for me—I much prefer Emily St. John Mandel for speculative fiction.
Thank you to netgalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Packaged as a novel, these four interconnected stories explore love and loss....life.
A young family in a tiny apartment find a gorgeous terrace inside their close when their new friend Stephanie visits. Without thinking of the costs of this treasure, they invite Stephanie over again and again. Thus begins the strange world of Terrace Story, where there a cost and everything (including the stories) are connected. It is quite magical and I remember feeling similarly when I read Narnia as a child and hoped that there was a door in my closet. If you love great literature, magical realism and poignant tale, Terrace Story is for you!
#Ecco #TerraceStory #HilaryLeichter

Hilary Leichter crafts a story unlike any author I've read before, making it impossible for me not to read this in one sitting. In Terrace Story, we're introduced to Annie, Edward, and their baby, Rose, a city-dwelling family embarrassed of the limited space in their apartment and on their credit card. But when one of Annie's co-workers, Stephanie, pays a visit, a vast and breathtaking terrace suddenly appears beyond their closet door. When Stephanie leaves, so does the terrace, thus beginning a give-and-take relationship between the family and Stephanie — both acting on entirely different motivations. Through four connected, nonlinear short stories, we’re taken on a generation-spanning journey through the points of view of Annie, Annie's parents, Stephanie, and Rose.

Without getting into too much detail, Terrace Story manages to explore complex and existential concepts of familial and romantic love, loss, extinction, death, and what it means to exist. The synopsis puts it best when describing the book's questioning of "how we nurture love when death looms over every moment." Terrace Story crosses between magical realism, fantasy, and even science fiction in the way it plays with the construct of time and reality. Reading this book feels like putting together a 3D puzzle within a dream, and the result feels both satisfying and heart-wrenching.

Terrace Story is undoubtedly a new favorite of mine, and I can't recommend it enough for those who love mind-bending stories and are constantly contemplating life's purpose and the human condition.

This book was an absolute delight. I liked Leichter's first book, Temporary, and knew to expect something...unexpected with "Terrace Story." I LOVED this quick read. It's impressive when an author writes something so completely original and does so in a way that can keep a reader's attention. Can't wait for her next book.

This book is hard to describe in the best way possible. Kind of a short story collection, kind of a novel, kind of about all different characters but also kind of all about the same thing. A book about liminal spaces that is itself a liminal space.

I would recommend if you are looking for something scifi-adjacent and are willing to be a little bit confused.

i completely ate this up within one sitting. it’s quite difficult to put into words the feelings one experiences when reading this novel. straight from the beginning, you’re met with this underlying sense of twisty deceit blanketed under comfortable tones and relationships, creating this sense of questionable uneasiness.

the storyline itself is a bit disorienting, as the central themes of loss and love, and the mistakes and repercussions that result from loss and love can most definitely feel confusing and insurmountable. its disorderliness feels like a nod to the lack of a linear path through life. the added elements of magical realism emphasize this turbulence as well as the lengths one would go to prevent loss, to deal with grief, to love unconditionally, and to continue to exist while simultaneously uncontrollably spinning.

while the experience of reading terrace story felt dizzying, it somehow also felt vivid and deep. it almost felt like watching an episode of black mirror. i am excited to pick up more of hilary leichter’s work!

thank you NetGalley and Ecco Books for an ARC! review will posted on my book instagram (@roe.reads) on pub date