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emkreads's review against another edition
5.0
J’ai tout simplement adoré ces histoires 😍 Un de mes nouveaux livres préférés
fliu92's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
Heather O'Neill is a Canadian author who sets her stories in a gritty, half-magical Montreal neighborhood. Daydreams of Angels is her first collection of short stories. O'Neill, who writes like Karen Russell would, had she been raised in Quebec, rather than Florida, excels at the short story, which perfectly suits her off-beat and fairy tale-like writing style. Her stories are alternately bright, but with a dark, foreboding undertone, or bleak, with a touch of magic realism, as though George Saunders and Sarah Addison Allen had decided to collaborate.
In Messages in Bottles, two children are shipwrecked on a deserted island:
The girl wondered if they spent their whole lives on the island, whether she would have to marry a walrus. They were respectable and dependable. They wouldn't cheat on you. But it would be a loveless life. Some of the swans told her that it took seven years to learn to love a walrus. After that, though, everything was okay. More or less.
There are stories based on other tales, like Sting Like a Bee, which follows three characters, a boy, a dog and a girl, all named Ferdinand, like in the story by Munro Leaf. Another, The Isles of Dr. Moreau, has a grandfather telling his grandchildren about his experiences there, and the odd things he saw. Swan Lake for Beginners imagines a Soviet program secretly operating in a village in northern Quebec, where Rudolph Nureyev is being cloned in the hopes of creating a group of great ballet dancers.
In The Saddest Chorus Girl in the World, a woman returns home, broken and unhappy:
The winter wind knew that Violet was coming back. The sky was holding its breath, and when it saw Violet step out of the train station, it finally exhaled and beautiful snowflakes began to fall. Children all over the city were noticing the gigantic snowflakes that were stuck on their mittens. They had been specially designed to impress Violet. The winter wanted Violet back.
She went for a walk in the east end. The gargoyles wanted to crawl right down off the buildings and put their arms around her. She was the only one who had loved them and who had thought they were beautiful. She was the only on who had chosen this neighborhood over Westmount.
Every story in this collection was different. I hope she continues to write short stories, although I'll continue to read what ever she writes.
In Messages in Bottles, two children are shipwrecked on a deserted island:
The girl wondered if they spent their whole lives on the island, whether she would have to marry a walrus. They were respectable and dependable. They wouldn't cheat on you. But it would be a loveless life. Some of the swans told her that it took seven years to learn to love a walrus. After that, though, everything was okay. More or less.
There are stories based on other tales, like Sting Like a Bee, which follows three characters, a boy, a dog and a girl, all named Ferdinand, like in the story by Munro Leaf. Another, The Isles of Dr. Moreau, has a grandfather telling his grandchildren about his experiences there, and the odd things he saw. Swan Lake for Beginners imagines a Soviet program secretly operating in a village in northern Quebec, where Rudolph Nureyev is being cloned in the hopes of creating a group of great ballet dancers.
In The Saddest Chorus Girl in the World, a woman returns home, broken and unhappy:
The winter wind knew that Violet was coming back. The sky was holding its breath, and when it saw Violet step out of the train station, it finally exhaled and beautiful snowflakes began to fall. Children all over the city were noticing the gigantic snowflakes that were stuck on their mittens. They had been specially designed to impress Violet. The winter wanted Violet back.
She went for a walk in the east end. The gargoyles wanted to crawl right down off the buildings and put their arms around her. She was the only one who had loved them and who had thought they were beautiful. She was the only on who had chosen this neighborhood over Westmount.
Every story in this collection was different. I hope she continues to write short stories, although I'll continue to read what ever she writes.
christajls's review against another edition
3.0
Some of these stories were truly excellent. Others just weren't my cup of tea. All in all I'd say this is a solid collection.
routergirl's review against another edition
5.0
Heather O'Neill is brilliant. I've had this book for months, and I'm kicking myself that I only just opened it up. Every story is a gem - I'd struggle to pick any that didn't appeal. Some are fantastical (Where Babies Come From), some will make your head spin (The Gypsy and the Bear), or make you scratch your head (The Story of Little O). Messages in Bottles is one of my favorites - two children shipwrecked who take to writing messages in bottles from their island, while they fall in love with the wildness of it all. O'Neill takes her words and arranges them just so, to bring you closer to the tale with each line. Like, "The full moon was laughing at the twins as they sailed on their bed across the Atlantic Ocean."
The Holy Dove Parade reached into me in a unique way - my reading journal is full of quotes from this book, but that story I loved the best (and it's written as a letter to a kidnapped child from their kidnapper):
Read this. Heather O'Neill is artistic, amusing, fantastical, and she makes me smile.
The Holy Dove Parade reached into me in a unique way - my reading journal is full of quotes from this book, but that story I loved the best (and it's written as a letter to a kidnapped child from their kidnapper):
“We are brainwashed from when we are very little to have the thoughts that the government wants us to have. We think these are our own thoughts, but they are not. They are like frozen-dinner thoughts. We buy them already made and then heat them up in our brains a little and then think them. As if they are our own. As if thoughts didn’t take any effort.
You have to create thoughts from scratch, Piglet. And as for the ingredients, you need love, wisdom, terror and acceptance. You have to put all these emotions together in order for them to be big and bold and gigantic ideas that you can be proud of and truly call your own. These are the kinds of thoughts that are free and original and can change the world.”
Read this. Heather O'Neill is artistic, amusing, fantastical, and she makes me smile.
lisalikesdogs's review against another edition
5.0
Heather O'Neill is such a treat. Favourites: The Holy Dove Parade, Dolls, Where Babies Come From, The Man Without a Heart, Heaven, Sting Like a Bee, The Story of A Rose Bush
itsmandaaa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ldv's review against another edition
3.0
Short stories that read like fairytales, sometimes R-rated. The lyrical style of the writing is excellent. the earlier stories were generally more enjoyable than the later stories. Lots of stories about very poor kids (I internalized those stories too much and felt very poor myself). It would be very interesting to meet the author of these stories, some of them are so off the wall and imaginative I wonder what kind of person it takes to create them.
Not for the conservative reader.
Not for the conservative reader.
azura's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
sanmeow's review against another edition
medium-paced
1.25
i've read two books by heather o'neill before and i've established that i like her style. but there was always something lacking for me, and that's the case here as well. i think the stories were interesting thematically and some imagery was nice, but ultimately they didn't make me feel anything. no story really stood out because they were a bit repetitive. actually, the first story did stand out just because the repetitiveness couldn't kick in seeing as it is the first story.