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salreads's review
3.0
‘Stories’ is about the stories we tell children so they will eat, the books we choose to read them at night to feed their little brains , stories we tell them when we are too busy to spend with them, the stories we tell to explain things to children. And these little stories leave a trail; one which will inevitably trip us up. As the author demonstrates so much of it is about semantics and words are ambiguous, laden with connotations and history ..
This is a collection of stories or vignettes, each discussing one of the myths perpetuated by adults. Most of these are wrapped within a story. An example of this is a girl looking at the linking of the alphabet to specific animals in her childhood blocks. She writes down each animal and identifies its myth, it’s reality - usually brutal and cruel, debunking the myth of humans as animal loving..
This collection is very dark and very clever, and like a bitter expresso, it needs to be savoured slowly. A lot of this is about the language we use with children and the language of the writing itself is esoteric - I’m not sure whether this is deliberate.. There’s a play on words on every level.
I thought that this might be a book about the derivation of these stories; it’s not, rather it’s an intellectual exploration of how the way we use words and stories can be transformative in a way, as parents we hadn’t anticipated. It’s not an easy read, but it throws out some fascinating ideas!
This is a collection of stories or vignettes, each discussing one of the myths perpetuated by adults. Most of these are wrapped within a story. An example of this is a girl looking at the linking of the alphabet to specific animals in her childhood blocks. She writes down each animal and identifies its myth, it’s reality - usually brutal and cruel, debunking the myth of humans as animal loving..
This collection is very dark and very clever, and like a bitter expresso, it needs to be savoured slowly. A lot of this is about the language we use with children and the language of the writing itself is esoteric - I’m not sure whether this is deliberate.. There’s a play on words on every level.
I thought that this might be a book about the derivation of these stories; it’s not, rather it’s an intellectual exploration of how the way we use words and stories can be transformative in a way, as parents we hadn’t anticipated. It’s not an easy read, but it throws out some fascinating ideas!
frasersimons's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
I am always a bit hesitant to read short story collections because how can you rate something that is, almost ubiquitously, uneven? Different genres; different voices crafted for each narration; different perspectives; different points of interest for each conceit and premise. Terrifying.
I think this might be the third collection I’ve read that’s pulled it off though. Mostly by being exceptional with prose and diction work, making every story, if not a thing of personal interest, a pleasure to consume and feel on the proverbial tongue. And also with one story in particular that managed to form a dialogue with me regarding something I’ve never once fully articulated nor certainly verbalized. A story called A Briefing on Time’s History. I am a twin myself and make sense of my world primarily through narrative (Malka Older would probably call it a narrative disorder, actually), so that story was really striking and thought provoking to me. Not to mention moving.
There are other stand outs though. A story about a woman negotiating life with the ostensible memory of her father forcing food down her throat as a child when obstinate as an extrapolation of men in the future perceiving her body in a similar way. There are lots of things in here like that. I like to call these kinds of things prismatic. You shift something just a small degree and look at it from a different angle and it’s entirely something else.
Or a whole new view of the same thing, anyway. Excellent stuff. Rumination and stray thoughts that run rampant into stories regarding rearing and socialization and the good and damage we do to those we love, regardless of intent. You’ll laugh and you’ll be horrified. It goes places, from time to time.
I think this might be the third collection I’ve read that’s pulled it off though. Mostly by being exceptional with prose and diction work, making every story, if not a thing of personal interest, a pleasure to consume and feel on the proverbial tongue. And also with one story in particular that managed to form a dialogue with me regarding something I’ve never once fully articulated nor certainly verbalized. A story called A Briefing on Time’s History. I am a twin myself and make sense of my world primarily through narrative (Malka Older would probably call it a narrative disorder, actually), so that story was really striking and thought provoking to me. Not to mention moving.
There are other stand outs though. A story about a woman negotiating life with the ostensible memory of her father forcing food down her throat as a child when obstinate as an extrapolation of men in the future perceiving her body in a similar way. There are lots of things in here like that. I like to call these kinds of things prismatic. You shift something just a small degree and look at it from a different angle and it’s entirely something else.
Or a whole new view of the same thing, anyway. Excellent stuff. Rumination and stray thoughts that run rampant into stories regarding rearing and socialization and the good and damage we do to those we love, regardless of intent. You’ll laugh and you’ll be horrified. It goes places, from time to time.
ceriwelshmumof3reads's review
3.0
This book was not at all what I was expecting!
It literally is as it says, a book full of short stories we tell our children. From the tooth fairy, nightly stories and father Christmas.
It's a frank and open way to talk about the 'fibs' we tell them. I found myself resonating so much with so many stories as to how we act with our kids. It makes you think about all these fibs we tell and we set them up from the get go.
This isn't a book you can sit and read in one sitting, for me. This is a dip in when the mood takes type of book. Each short story is cleverly written and so detailed you can see yourself in them!
It literally is as it says, a book full of short stories we tell our children. From the tooth fairy, nightly stories and father Christmas.
It's a frank and open way to talk about the 'fibs' we tell them. I found myself resonating so much with so many stories as to how we act with our kids. It makes you think about all these fibs we tell and we set them up from the get go.
This isn't a book you can sit and read in one sitting, for me. This is a dip in when the mood takes type of book. Each short story is cleverly written and so detailed you can see yourself in them!
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