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The Menagerie of Lost Things
By Chelsea Muzar
The Menagerie of Lost Things is a collection of pure human experience disguised as a book of short stories.
Utlising magical realism, sci fi and fantasy elements, Chelsea Muzar creates a piece of art reflecting what it means to live, to lose, to love. The contrast of the magical and mundane knit together a unique collection promising laughter, tears, and devastation.
I think out of all the stories, the three that stuck with me the most were Love, Sex, and Necromancy, A Lion in Germany, and The Selkie’s Lover.
In Love, Sex, and Necromancy, there’s been a sort of zombie plague, and you journey with someone who has lost their first love. This was a really fascinating choice for the first story in the book, but it absolutely drew me in with its depth of emotion and grief.
A Lion In Germany features a writer trying to survive an apocalyptic pandemic while stuck abroad. His one companion as he locks himself in his apartment is a small plastic lion. I think this one may haunt me forever.
I can’t say much about The Selkie’s Lover without spoiling it, but it follows a married couple — an old woman and her Selkie husband — and the woman’s insecurities about her husband’s devotion. This story made me sob, and books don’t make me cry easily.
The other stories feature mermaids, holographs, werewolves, a sea monster, a ghost, pandemics, and robots. Ultimately, they share themes of grief, hope, and the extent of human emotion. They each add a subtle twist partway through, taking what you thought you understood about the worldbuilding and flipping it upside down.
If you read any short stories this year, The Menagerie of Lost Things is a collection full of must-reads.
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Thank you Chelsea Muzar for the eARC.
The Menagerie of Lost Things releases April 13, 2026 and can be purchased in hardcover or paperback here.
The Midnight Review 