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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
Karen Russell wrote a marvelous review and it's on the back cover of the book. yes, what she said.
I read a few stories and put it down for months. I picked it back up, started reading a story, didn't like it, moved to another story which I finished but didn't like... There's a theme here. This one's not for me. I made it through about 60 pages and will not continue.
The one about the fat guy traveling home for a reunion has stuck with me vividly for 5 years.
I found most of the stories deeply misogynistic -- focused on women as objects, one-dimensional characters who served the sexual interests of the (mostly, if not entirely) male narrators, even if nothing was acted upon. Further, several of the stories threw the word "rape" around as though it is not a reference to a specific, violating act.
In the few stories where this wasn't the case, the reader watches deeply lonely men try to navigate a world where they assume everyone is happier/better off than them, and therefore making fun of them. To me, this also rings true of the particular misogyny of "nice guys" who believe the world (or women) has done them wrong despite them being SO nice to everyone; the guys who eventually seek or imagine some sort of revenge to quell their self-loathing.
In the few stories where this wasn't the case, the reader watches deeply lonely men try to navigate a world where they assume everyone is happier/better off than them, and therefore making fun of them. To me, this also rings true of the particular misogyny of "nice guys" who believe the world (or women) has done them wrong despite them being SO nice to everyone; the guys who eventually seek or imagine some sort of revenge to quell their self-loathing.