The Cleaners Book Cover

The Cleaners


A Science Fiction Short Story


Book 1 of the Faraway collection Series


Subgenres & Tropes:

  • Memory Fiction,
  • Sibling Fiction,
  • Fairy Tale Retelling
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This book is for you if you're into...

  • Stories where memory can be scrubbed from everyday objects
  • Sibling relationships tested by magical choices about the past
  • Fairy tale retellings with a fresh, emotional twist
Publisher Description

Touch the past or wash it away? Two sisters have a choice in this unforgettable short story of everyday magic and the power of memory by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Ken Liu.

Gui is a professional cleaner at A Fresh Start, scrubbing away the unpleasant layers of memory that build up on the personal objects of his customers. Memory-blind himself, he can’t feel those wounds. Clara can, and she prefers them irretrievable. Until her sister, Beatrice, ultrasensitive to memory, raises one that could change Clara’s mind.

For Gui, the past is gone. For Clara and Beatrice, deciding what to remember reaches to the heart of their shared history.

The Cleaners is part of Faraway, a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions. Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again.

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