Tor.com, November 2021

“A Better Way of Saying” by Sarah Pinsker

Reviewed by Michelle Ristuccia

In “A Better Way of Saying” by Sarah Pinsker, a silent movie shouter discovers an ability to edit the title cards he reads for the audience—but does his ability extend beyond the movies? Told in engaging first person, set in the melting pot of early 1900s New York, “A Better Way of Saying” explores the subtle frustrations of blind rules and the easy cowardice of our everyday roles—what we’re expected to say, and not to say. But when one person sees the time to speak up, the opportune moment to edit group-think perception, fates can shift as surely as they do for flashy wizards shouting ancient spells. Through layered, self-aware narration, Pinsker brings readers a story of a quiet certainty, a story of small magics and thankful optimism.