Beautiful Day is an unsettling collection of stories about ordinary people who experience bizarre and threatening happenings in their lives. It is not a stretch to call it metaphysical fiction, and it is intended for readers who are drawn to those kinds of stories. Think of the TV show Severance, the Academy Award-winning movie Everything Everywhere All at Once., or possibly David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas or George Saunders’ stories. If you are a fan of any of these, you are ly the perfect reader for this collection.

In Trial Run, the opening story, a man living alone after a contentious divorce finds himself in his nearly empty office on a snowy day. There are only two other men there: an unraveling co-worker and a tightly coiled security guard. Lately, some disturbing viral messages have been coming in, and suspicions are running high. As he cautiously listens to the ramblings, his sense of safety becomes increasingly violated. What is really going on here?

In another, Wood Sorrel House, one of the longer pieces, an ordinary couple is transfixed in some sort of pastoral reality. The couple has a little boy; even though the parents grow older, the toddler shows no signs of getting older.

In Neighbors, another ordinary couple who are struggling with the aftermath of infidelity moves to San Francisco in the hopes of “redrawing the map” of their marriage. Yet what awaits them is a strange occurrence in a neighbor's home. In another, a man connects with a woman who wants him to have sex with her while her husband watches from the closet. He imagines the husband as virulent. After he finishes the deed, he is shocked to discover the truth.

A number of authors whom I greatly respect hail this collection as brilliant, and if I were a critic, I would agree. It takes a great appreciation of the absurd and the perverse, and as I read on, I became increasingly certain that I was not the right reader for this particular collection. As a result, I don’t feel comfortable providing a rating. I am tremendously grateful to Doubleday for the opportunity to be an early reader and recommend the book to those who are more comfortable with the genre.
7 s Jessi - TheRoughCutEdge481 29


This was a dark and ominous collection of stories that made me feel off-kilter at the best of times. Unsettling in a very raw way, think Black Mirror meets Leave the World Behind. If you enjoy things that make you question reality and existence then you’ll probably this debut.

I, however, am not the key demographic for this type of narrative. I didn’t enjoy the angst and discomfort I felt while reading and honestly felt stressed as I started each new story. I will say that the writing was really good and I can see Zach having a bright future in the literary world. I’ve been vacillating between 2.5 and 3 stars . Still can’t decide how I really feel so I’ll just leave it at that.

Big thanks to Doubleday for the #gifted copy!


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