Other Minds and Other Stories

“Three superb story collections by three masters of the form. I find it hard to keep stories straight when I’m in the middle of a collection, let alone weeks or months after I’ve finished it. But moments will stick with me from all three of these books. In [Bennett Sims’ Other Minds and Other Stories], it will be the David Lynch–level creepiness of “Unknown,” the Sebaldian hauntedness of “Portonaccio Sarcophagus,” and the Thomas Bernhardesque internal convolutions of “Introduction to the Reading of Hegel.” (Those three comps should give a sense for Sims’s stylistic and tonal range.)”
—Anthony Domestico, Commonweal

“Elements of horror, noirish hard-boiled pulp, Sebaldian essayistic travelogue, Borgesian fantasy, and E. T. A. Hoffmann’s uncanny are all present in this remarkable story collection, but Sims’s writing is very much its own world, synthesizing its influences and references into strikingly original parables of the modern interface. The stories often jump off from some mundane wonder of the technological present—GPS systems, e-readers, phone trackers, Zoom squares, GIFs, etc—and then give each interface an idiosyncratic half-turn, revealing their bizarre alterations to our experiences of time, death, and the existence of others… Not that all of the interfaces Sims meditates upon are so new. The most wrenching story here might be ‘Introduction to the Reading of Hegel,’ about the interface of the book, and the horrors of a life devoted to reading them.”
—Nicholas Dames, Public Books

“An eerie sense of the contemporary uncanny permeates Bennett Sims’s collection Other Minds and Other Stories. [Sims’s] gaze remains sharp and exacting. This icily penetrating collection exposes something of the human condition that is much more stark, lonely and unnerving.”
—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

“In this collection of a dozen stories, ekphrastic flash fiction is interspersed with longer narratives where the characters find themselves in eerie and unnerving situations… There is a deep current of paranoia in these stories, and it’s often like a rip tide. In Other Minds, things usually start off with reasonable calm, until an unseen—or unforeseen—event pulls a character under. Richly imagined and skillfully executed.”
—Wendy J. Fox, Electric Literature

“Who is the most talented writer of our generation? … [Bennett Sims] is, in my view, one of the most successful importers to contemporary American fiction of the narrative techniques of European late modernism—the sensibility of David Lynch crossed with style of W.G. Sebald for the age of digital media.”
—Ryan Ruby, Interview Magazine

“Bennett Sims’ commitment to pushing the boundaries of contemporary fiction is unmistakable in this collection. Other Minds and Other Stories extends an invitation to immerse yourself in a world where the line between reality and the surreal blurs, leaving an enduring impact on those who relish cerebral and haunting storytelling. The unmistakable Lynchian aura of this book resonates with a depth that will indelibly alter your perception of the ordinary, ensuring that you’ll never view the world in quite the same light again.”
—Mallory Smart, Maudlin House

“The stories in Other Minds are alternatively cerebral and visceral, dreamlike and contemplative, horrifying and humorous, but are always thought-provoking. If you are a fan of David Lynch, Thomas Bernhard, or Brian Evenson—or simply love eerie and philosophical short stories—I’d encourage you to pick up a copy.”
—Lincoln Michel, Counter Craft

“With the new collection Other Minds and Other Stories, Sims pushes his fiction into fascinating new places—including one of the most surreal private detective stories you’re likely to read. Sims’s use of dream logic and surrealism blend with a cerebral quality; the overall effect is thoroughly compelling.”
—Tobias Carroll, Tor.com

“[Bennett Sims] draws on academia, art, and technology for a superb collection about identity and memory…. Throughout, Sims boldly plays with form, such as in ‘Introduction to the Reading of Hegel,’ which consists of one paragraph that extends for nearly 30 pages and chronicles an adjunct professor’s self-sabotage as he attempts to apply for a prestigious fellowship. Here and elsewhere, the prose is shot through with pitch-perfect observations and dark undercurrents… These brilliant stories are hard to shake.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Wholly original and totally unsettling, Sims’ new collection is spellbinding and nail-biting with the turn of every story.”
—Sam Franzini, Our Culture Magazine

“Bennett Sims’ new book, Other Minds and Other Stories, is wonderful, and is coming out soon. That’s definitely spooky. When I read it, I found it incredibly unsettling. It was very, very, very spooky. I read it in one sitting, at a bar, and it was so creepy.”
—Carmen Maria Machado, Little Village Magazine

“Like Paige Clark and Kate Folk, Bennett Sims belongs to a younger cohort of fiction writers who probe our most common psychopathologies to show us that we dwell among phantoms.”
—Kelly M.S. Swope, Full Stop

“Award-winning author Bennett Sims’ short story collection explores the uncanny, the unsettling, and the horrifying things about our everyday lives. It all kicks off when a man lends his phone to a stranger in the mall. From there, eerie and mysterious unknown calls start coming in, forever changing his world. These 12 short stories will send shivers down your spine.”
—Emily Martin, Book Riot

“Halloween may be behind us, but there’s always room on our shelf for books that satisfy and scare. Bennett Sims’s collection Other Minds and Other Stories does just that, bringing together twelve short stories about characters navigating the paranoia and obsession of everyday horrors both internal and external… Sims presents readers with unforgettable characters who are losing their grip on their own identities and the world around them, creating a collection that can be both terrifying and endless in its possibilities. Other Minds and Other Stories takes a refreshing approach to storytelling and achieves heights we rarely see in short fiction.”
—Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books

“Sims’ collection balances high-concept fiction with visceral thrills… Sims writes obsession well, evoking the ways in which a seemingly quotidian encounter can transform into something bizarre or alienating when seen from the right angle. Readers who enjoy their fiction heady will find a lot to enjoy here. This ambitious collection finds the right balance of familiar and experimental.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Sims presents an interesting collection of psychologically unnerving stories with unreliable narrators galore. If you’re in the mood for a more heady read, this one will be right up your alley.”
—Alyssa Cokinis, Little Village Mag

“These stories are full of intellectual, philosophical and linguistic wonders. With a keen eye for the moments when the contemporary world turns to self-cannibalism, with ears attuned to the music of the language, Bennett Sims is one of the finest writers working in America today.”
—Yiyun Li, author of The Book of Goose

“There is no living writer more unsettling and brilliant than Bennett Sims.”
—Carmen Maria Machado, author of In the Dream House

“Patiently, placidly, with exquisite technique and implacable logic, the mad master Bennett Sims erects gorgeous edifices of thought and bricks us inside while we admire the craftsmanship. It takes rare talent to make the prison of solipsism seem so inviting.”
—Adam Ehrlich Sachs, author of Inherited Disorders and The Organs of Sense

“In Other Minds and Other Stories, Bennett Sims patiently parses the movements of consciousnesses increasingly colonized by media technology and turns the screws on the banalities of contemporary life until the uncanny irrupts from them. Following on White Dialogues, the twelve stories in this collection confirm Sims as a virtuoso of the form, and one of the best writers working in America today.”
—Ryan Ruby, author of The Zero and the One

“Bennett Sims belongs to that almost extinct category of fiction writers whose lexical virtuosity, besides being a joy to read, reminds us the English language can thrive outside the tired phraseologies of everyday life. Whether he’s examining glitches of intersubjectivity, or the generative power of blank faces in a sarcophagus, his obsessive inquisitiveness enlivens every page of Other Minds and Other Stories.”
—Mauro Javier Cardenas, author of Aphasia and The Revolutionaries Try Again

“Bennett Sims is a pioneer and peerless master of psychological horror. The characters of Other Minds and Other Stories are haunted by intellect, helplessly coaxing terror from the ordinary by their powers of fine observation: GPS navigators, text messages, a snowy night, even the very act of reading. But what’s truly unsettling is that once this book makes you see things in its brilliantly paranoid way, you’ll never be able not to. Glory to Bennett Sims!”
—Tony Tulathimutte, author of Private Citizens

“These stories are brilliant: at once virtuosic and moving, funny and sad, terrifying and sweet. Each story is an excavation of thought, insistently pursued beyond the stopping point of most fiction, so that, in reading, we are permitted to sink into the deepest wormholes of its characters’ minds. There we find language at its most intricate and precise, perfections of expression that provide a reader that thrilling sense of recognition that comes when the words on the page have caused her to see herself—and maybe others—more clearly than she had before she read them.”
—Louisa Hall, author of Reproduction, Trinity, and Speak

“Impeccably observed, exquisitely written, and rightly suspicious, Other Minds and Other Stories is a thrilling free-fall into the limitless spaces of relentless human obsessions—from voicemail to chickens to postcards to snow—brilliantly exposing, in the absolute everyday, the deepest and truest, and perhaps most familiar, of horrors.”
—Susan Steinberg, author of The End of Free Love, Hydroplane, Spectacle, and Machine: A Novel

“Dreamy and visceral at once. I really liked it but it did end any ideas I had of ever owning chickens.”
—Matthew Burris, Magic City Books (Tulsa, OK)

“Other Minds and Other Stories by Bennett Sims is a perfectly unsettling collection about memory, perception, self-doubt, Hegel, Hegel, Hegel, and amateur chicken butchering that goes horrifically wrong. From the purchase of a new cell phone to writing a personal statement that nearly drives a philosophy graduate student to madness, Sims is the master at exploring the horror in everyday mundane situations. Highly recommended!”
—Caitlin Baker, Island Books (Mercer Island, WA)

“This exquisite spiderweb of words is suspended in an eerily unique literary space between Borges’ narrative mazes, Shirley Jackson’s psychological gothic, George Saunders’ noir satire, and Carmen Machado’s social horror. Getting lost in a Sims tale may bruise your mind a bit, but it’s worth it for the uncanny vistas.”
—Jonathan Hawpe, Carmichael’s Bookstore (Louisville, KY)

“This collection of cerebral stories left me on edge and wondering what I just read because my brain couldn’t quite perform the gymnastics required to wrap my mind around it. Fascinated, you’ll read, then reread these stories, then not be able to get them out of your head! ‘Unknown’ and ‘The Postcard’ were standouts.”
—Alana Haley, Schuler Books (Grand Rapids, MI)

“what a fucking fantastic year for short stories. i absolutely love the restless interiority of Sims’s narrators, how they obsess over details and grow increasingly troubled (and on rare occasions, enter a zen-like space of peace) as they pore over possible coincidences. there’s also a startling breadth of kinds of stories, from the very short to the ones that spill and froth and just keep going seemingly unable or unwilling to stop. “Introduction to Reading Hegel” has a pitch perfect blend of humor and academic paranoia. One of the best collections I’ve read in years. 12 stars out of 10.”
—Douglas Riggs, Bank Square Books (Mystic, CT)

“I loved this collection. Fits very well for those who like the short-form vibes of Samanta Schweblin and Brian Evenson. A spooky, David Foster Wallace-y attention to detail, like taking a microscope and roller-ruler to a Build-A-Nightmare.”
—Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA)

“This latest story collection from Bennett Sims is equal parts playful and unsettling, and a consistently engaging exploration into interior minds that feel just a bit askew.”
—Bryan Seitz, Literati Bookstore (Ann Arbor, MI)

“Cerebral, eerie, and bleak. These short stories are candid and stylistically complex. My favorite stories were the ones with the unknown caller, the one with the chicken slaughter, and he one where a photograph seemed to have captured the presence of a grim reaper.”
—Andrienne Cruz, Azusa City Library (Azusa, CA)