Imagine stepping into a book where every story feels like a dream you almost remember—strange, magical, and a little spooky. Other Worlds by André Alexis is a collection of nine short stories that take you to places that feel familiar but are filled with weird surprises. One story has a man who dies in Trinidad and wakes up 100 years later as a Canadian kid. Another has a town where people hibernate in giant sacks during winter. There’s even a tale about a woman who starts dating the artist who painted her mom. Each story mixes real life with fantasy, making you wonder what’s possible and what’s just plain bizarre.

Alexis doesn’t just tell cool stories—he makes you think. His characters are often confused, curious, or trying to figure out something big about themselves or the world. He uses different styles, like horror and even anime-inspired plots (like isekai), and references famous writers from the past. But the best part? He writes in a way that’s funny, deep, and sometimes a little sad, all at once. If you like stories that feel like puzzles or that make you go “wait, what just happened?”, this book is like a treasure chest of strange, thoughtful adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley and FSG Originals for this ARC!

The book stayed off really good, and I really enjoyed the first story, however the others got a bit boring.

I always look forward to new stories by André Alexis; his prose is gorgeous, his insight and inventiveness terrific, and this collection of short stories does not disappoint.

They range across history and countries, and consider relationships in families, art, the effects of colonialism, and immigration, but the stories within "Other Worlds" are not screeds or polemics. Each is a self contained world and uses humour, keen observation, fantasy and horror elements that are subtly dropped in, and all these together make for interesting reading.

I had my favourites:

-Contrition: An Isekai: where a obeah man misinterprets a colonizer's actions, dies, and is reborn as a descendant of the colonize.

-Houyhnhnm: A son deals with his grief over his father's death, by getting to know and care for his father's horse, who can talk.

-A Certain Likeness: A woman gets to know the artist who painted her mother's likeness years earlier.

-Pu Songling: An Appreciation: An elderly medicine mad is looking for an apprentice.

-An Elegy: An author writes of moving from Trinidad to Canada, and becoming a writer.

There are also images that lingered in my mind, though the one most shocking, was of human-sized bags hanging within houses…

I greatly enjoyed this collection, which again demonstrates Alexis' versatility, imagination, and sensitivity.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This was such an intriguing and beautifully written collection. The stories explore strange ideas and emotional truths with elegance and clarity. Some felt eerie, others quietly profound, but all of them lingered with me. Alexis’s writing is sharp and thoughtful, and I really enjoyed how each story felt distinct yet connected in tone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I was really excited to read this short story collection that traversed the distance between Trinidad & Tobago and Canada. After the first fantastic short story, however, I was let down. Many of the stories meandered beyond the realm of interesting. I don't mind a philosophical exploration but most of the time they were not interesting. I found it a struggle to finish the book. After "Contrition: An Isekai", my favorite stories were "Houyhnhnm" and "A Certain Likeness."

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I couldn't get through the pacing or writing style. It wasn't something I was itching to pick up.

A collection of stories that somehow feel both unfamiliar and completely like home 🏠✨… Other Worlds is just that...a magical, mind-bending doorway into strange places that tug at every single real emotions. 💭💫

From an obeah spirit reborn into a canadian child 🇹🇹➡️🇨🇦, to mysterious sacks hanging from ceilings 🧺 (what are they?!), to a single envelope that flips a whole life story ✉️…this book is
weird, tender, and full of soul 🧡.

I've been on a little love arc for short story collections lately 🥹📚 and this one just deepened it so much. André Alexis writes like he’s letting you in on a secret…and then suddenly, you're in a
whole new dimension 🌌.

There’s gothic horror 🕷️, magical realism ✨, even isekai?!!
(hello anime girlies I see you) 🌸. The themes?? About time ⏳,
memory 🧠, grief 😔, identity 🪞...it’s all in there, tangled beautifully with strange little moments that stay with you like a song stuck in your head.

Other Worlds is a collection of stories that presents an amalgam of contrasts, many variables like cultures, places and languages. Most stories move from Port of Spain in Trinidad to Ottawa, Amherst and Quebec and are centred about the relationship between parents and children, overcoming grief of their loss, memories parents leave behind in their children. The author writes in a way that feels emotionally intimate, he transcends the boundaries between real in most of his stories and surreal - covering themes like - demonic possession and rebirth etc in the first story, the longest one in the collection titled Contrition. Stories titled Consolation and Houyhnhnm feel like autofiction. A small piece at the end titled An Elegy is more an afterword at the book's end than a short story and is a beautiful ode to language, highlights well what the author feels about his multicultural roots. What stands out in these stories are how perceptions people have of a certain race are portrayed, it's a subtle attack on racism showing how dificult it is to overcome the habit of 'othering'. There are places where the author gets too wordy and reading feels stagnant/like a tedious exercise. But barring those instances, the themes, the emotional connect the author allows through his stories, the ability to know a world very different from the one that's dominant, all that's well done.

this story is very gripping, and the plot meanders from one place to another in a way that kept me engaged and made me want to read more to know what would happen. I found it fascinating how the writer managed to tell a story of an old man trapped in the body of a young child. that was wonderfully rendered

Thank the Publisher for granting me this ARC on Netgalley. Alexis is my favorite contemporary author. To me, this short story collection serves as a window into the inside world of André Alexis himself. Though the name of this book is Other Worlds, I saw a lot of similarities between the characters and the author. I like A Certain Likeness and Consolation the most, one for the plot and the other for the deep insight into the author’s childhood trauma. Alexis you are so good, pleases continue writing!!!

Part of the problem I have when reading Alexis’s works is that “Fifteen Dogs” is such a perfect book that my expectations are very high for anything else this author writes. Specifically my problem with the stories here is the amount of exposition, which I eventually lost patience with. Okay let’s say the first story in the collection is set in a natural cadence of an older lusher style of writing that begins with a languid description of place and character. Fine, fine. But even granting its written in this style it goes on and goes on and goes on, until I was itching to get to the transition, the sentence that begins with ‘One day…’ or something like it, and the action begins. I felt the same irritable way about most of the other stories: too much explaining. That said I feel I must be an outlier here because after all what is the rush when things are so beautifully painted on the page? I’m a lout, my mind kept interrupting my reading to mutter: too many words

I always enjoy a good André Alexis story, and this collection delivers. The light weirdness that I’ve come to enjoy in his work is definitely still present here, just maybe not as much as I’d expected.

The stories feel very similar to each other, slightly different variations on the same themes. Some readers might find this repetitive, but to me it felt like the same characters just in parallel universes… or “other worlds,” if you will. I had a hard time putting this down once I got into it. Highly recommend!

And by the way, I need a Médard and Lucinda standalone novel ASAP. I’m just joking. I need a SERIES!

funny, magical, emotional... i became a big fan of mr. Alexis's work after reading this short story collection and will seek out more.. the story about the horse that appeared in the new yorker was really special.

Rating: 4.25/5

André Alexis’s Other Worlds is a masterclass in blending the uncanny with the deeply human. Each story draws you into a different realm, from a Trinidadian obeah man reborn in Canada to eerie small-town caretaking gigs. What stands out is Alexis’s ability to make the fantastical feel personal, whether he’s exploring themes of alienation, regret, or strange reckonings. The mix of gothic horror, isekai, and philosophical musings isn’t for everyone—it can feel dense at times—but if you’re up for something intellectually and emotionally rich, it’s absolutely worth the ride. Fans of Fifteen Dogs will feel right at home, yet this collection pushes boundaries in its own unique ways.

For those who enjoy stories that linger in your mind long after you finish, this is a must-read.