The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

Ken Liu

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 2016

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Introduction

Before Reading

Reading Context

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Answer Key

After Reading

Discussion/Analysis Prompt

Activity

Essay Questions

Exam Questions

Exam Answer Key

Introduction

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

Genre: Cross-genre short stories (science fiction, fantasy, noir, and magical realism)
Originally Published: 2011
Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 950L; grades 9-12; college/adult
Structure/Length: 15 separate stories; approx. 464 pages; approx. 15 hours, 41 minutes on audio
Protagonist and Central Conflict: This collection of stories features primarily Asian protagonists facing immigrant experiences, implications of advanced technology, and other challenges.
Potential Sensitivity Issues: Graphic violence and murder; sexual assault; suicide

Ken Liu, Author

Bio: Born in Lanzhou, China, in 1976; worked as a software engineer, a corporate lawyer, and a high-tech litigation consultant before becoming a full-time writer; frequently speaks at conferences on topics ranging from cryptocurrency to futurism to the mathematics of origami; lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts
Other Works: The Grace of Kings (2016); The Hidden Girl and Other Stories (2020); The Veiled Throne (2021); Speaking Bones (2022)
Awards: Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and Locus awards for various stories in the collection

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CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

Storytelling as a Universal Constant
The Essence of Memory and Erasure of the Past
The Immigrant Experience in America

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

Develop an understanding of cultural issues and genre as a context for reading the stories in collection.
Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Storytelling as a Universal Constant and The Immigrant Experience in America.
Participate in a debate about issues relating to history raised by a story in the collection.
Analyze and evaluate imagery, genre, and other literary devices to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the way the author uses myth, magic, and storytelling to communicate deeper themes.