I read The Mount by Carol Emshwiller

I really enjoyed this book, and not just because its kind of inherently pervy premise is something I've explored in my own way (lol), but because it really went weird and detailed with it. I loved the nimbleness and intuitiveness with which it passed between different voices, and the strange world it made, where a species of intelligent, but small and weak-legged aliens have subjugated humans on Earth to basically ride them like horses.

It does this fun switch-up thing where it seems straightforward enough, like, oh this is an allegory for capitalism or race, and then it will add such a density of practical details that it is, at the same time, just what it is, ie, imagining a world where people are horses. It creates a really fascinating and thought-provoking effect, and a really weird, intriguing setting.

The main character is also very charming in a LeGuinian protagonist way, where he'll just encounter a strange situation he doesn't understand, and kind of have this reaction like, "Explain the subtext, now!" I really admired the strangeness of this book, and how it moved between voices and levels of allegory.