This is a really interesting sci fi novella that works beautifully with the concept of stories within a story.
Anima is a watcher in the city of Ora and switches between animal bodies whenever aer help is needed through the use of fascinating biotech. Then a mysterious visitor arrives, who carries various items and memories from other cities and offers to tell Anima stories from outside aer city in exchange for memories of aer own.
This is a story that exists in a dialogue of narratives and masterfully weaves the various stories that are being told together. The stories themselves touch on many aspects of life: grief, mental health, assimilation, colonialism and agency and I adored every single one. There's one about hunting mermaids and exploitation, one about sports and colonialism, one about grief and resurrections, one about a corrupt government official, one about suicide and loss and more.
The writing style is viscerally beautiful, guiding me through all these short stories in a somewhat dream like fashion despite the darkness in them. The trans representation is nearly everywhere, there's three different sets of neo pronouns (ae/aer/aer, se/ser/ser & e/em/eir) as well as a trans woman character.
At times it feels like a collection of fairytales from a strange new world and I was utterly enchanted by it. Definitely recommended for fans of short stories, fairytales, stories as framework for other stories, anticolonialist narratives, weird and experimental storytelling and trans representation.