Imagine a Man in a Box (1931) by H. Russell Wakefield

A mid-life collection of odd, funny, strange, and uncanny short fiction

Readers unfamiliar with Imagine a Man in a Box (1931) by H. Russell Wakefield may prefer to read these notes only after reading the collection.

Imagine a Man in a Box (1931) by H. Russell Wakefield

Imagine a Man in a Box (1931) by H. Russell Wakefield is the strangest collection of short stories I have read since 2018, when I read several collections by Gerald Kersh and The Other Passenger by John Keir Cross.

Many stories in Imagine a Man in a Box employ a droll or whimsical authorial voice. The effect is not always successful.  Still, a collection not to be missed, demonstrating again that Wakefield accomplished much more than writing "The Red Lodge."

Macabre touches, grotesque climaxes and weird predicaments multiply and predominate in these stories.

Imagine a Man in a Box (1931)

A mirthless bend-over-backward attempt at a droll H.G. Wells-style scientific fantasia. Wakefield enjoys goring governments, scientists of various nationalities, and the multitude. But the punchline is small beer.