I have to read this again to make better sense of it.

As Neil Gaiman commented, "Reading Gene Wolfe is dangerous work. It's a knife-throwing act, and like all good knife-throwing acts, you may lose fingers, toes, earlobes or eyes in the process."

Eek!

I might have to read this five times to fully wrap my head around it, but don't doubt I'll find the dogged determination to do so.

I gave it four stars. But it is still cooking my brain and I've been reading analyses of the book online. I know I'm going to read it again, so it gets five stars now.

"I have written to disclose myself to myself, and I am writing now because I will, I know, sometime read what I am now writing and wonder. Perhaps by the time I do, I will have solved the mystery of myself; or perhaps I will no longer care to know the solution."
-Number Five

My first Gene Wolfe. All 3 are great stories, "A Story" by Marsch being the weakest, but serving as a key in connecting them all together.

I was debating whether I should give this 4 or 5. After truly thinking about the novellas, the connections and then reading the afterword in my copy of the book (written by Pamela Sargent), I have to agree: this is a major work of fiction.

Wonderful.

Well, I'll be honest and say I have zero idea what this set of three short stories is about. I get that there are tons of subtexts going on here, about colonialism, identity and self-identity, slavery, the line between childhood and adulthood, etc. But what seems to be sorely lacking is any actual primary text. Where is the story? I quickly became frustrated, because while the writing is fine (if a little cold and disinterested), there is truly no plot. And while I like an abstract conundrum as much as the next reader (?!), it is simply not enough to present me with a "story" in the form of a puzzle. This is precisely the kind of writing I don't like because there is the implication that if I as the reader don't "get it" then the fault must be my own lack of understanding or inability to grasp subtlety. Baloney! If you want me to fathom the deep meaning in your writing, then be clear in your writing.

I have heard the term "picturesque" attributed to Gene Wolfe's writing multiple times recently - first from the "Shelved by Genre" podcast with respect to "Shadow of the Torturer", and most recently by the lovely Ursula K. Le Guin regarding "The Fifth Head of Cerberus." I now believe that no other term can best describe Wolfe's writing, and that is a big part of why I will continually visit his work.

"The Fifth Head of Cerberus" includes three novellas that are connected in...ways. I enjoyed all three, and the ways in which they're connected. Wolfe wrote them all beautifully and crafted this weird, awful world to explore mature themes. It doesn't all land, and there are some confusing bits, but that comes with the picturesque.

This is a book that takes 'show don't tell' to extremes. This is an inventive, well written book, but it was a difficult read. There are some arresting images and ideas, but the fragmentary, dream-like style required a lot of hard work. I'm glad I read it, but I can't say I enjoyed it.

The Fifth Head of Cerberus is three novellas Frankenstein-ed together, it lacks the cohesiveness that Wolfe's Book of the New Sun has. It feels like a prototype of what Gene Wolfe would go on to write.

Unless you're a super fan of Wolfe's work, I don't think these novellas are worth reading. Even if you are a fan of his work, some parts of these novellas will be torture to read. Definitely not my cup of tea.

This book has taken me completely by surprise.
An extremely deep, challenging and layered work of fiction with references to classic literature and puzzles that reward the reader. The world building is realistic, dense and keeps you wanting to explore it more.
In a way this is exactly what I've come to expect from a science-fiction novel, but I feel that after reading "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" it's the first time that a novel reached that level of expectation.
I have to admit that listening to the Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast has helped immensely to understand all the themes and references woven throughout the three connected novellas.
It's the first work I've read by Wolfe and I can't wait to dig into more of his work.