The History Major, a novella by Michael Phillip Cash, tells the story of a college freshman who wakes up in a dorm where everything’s just a little bit off. Her roommate, her classmates, even her class schedule are unfamiliar, and she seems to have lost a few months between lying down and waking up.

The story’s got a great premise, but it’s not exactly a page-turner. I wasn’t waiting to see how events would turn out, in fact, a lot of the time, I wasn’t even sure the scenes were going or which details were background. Instead, I continued reading because Cash conveys a dreamlike state, where things are just not quite right, and I was intrigued by this half-world, which began to seem like a possible afterlife.

While we’re having a wider conversation about content warnings and consideration in academics, it was interesting to read about a student being reminded, through course content, of dark secrets in her past. Aristotle (or a semi-Aristotle, like many times in this book I wasn’t entirely sure what was real and what was a spirit) teaches a strange history class, and he was kind of a pompous dick, which is pretty much how I imagine him.

Overall, this book went in many different directions, ending as more of an intriguing world and interesting thoughts about an afterlife, than a traditional plot.

I received a copy of this book to review, all opinion are my own, as always.