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sineadcstories's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
year23's review
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I loved her memoir, but this fell really flat to me. I left confused, bereft, and at times, bored.Â
First person was used throughout most of the stories (I think the svu one was the only exception). As a result, there’s little character development, so little to hold onto in terms of understanding who is the protagonist in these stories. Many of whom don’t know who they are either (a theme throughout) but that confusion, the truncated writing style, it felt hollow. Almost every story could be interpreted to have the same MC - I don’t know if that’s intentional or not but I think speaks to how little character building was done.Â
You can see the beginnings of the memoir here too - but the memoir works so much better because the voice of the MC (the author) has clarity, perspective, and more depth. It’s grounded - even as the writing is creative and genre bending.
I never thought I’d say this about a short story collection but these stories were too long. They went on and on and went nowhere at the same time. The repetition was almost enough that I was going to dnf.Â
At the end of the day - I did not get it. I think this was written in a vague way, all vibes and little substance, playing with confusion & liminality intentionally but failed in execution.
I’m also genuinely shocked at the first story being lauded so much - I read the original of that story and didn’t feel like this brought that much difference or newness to it (the son dynamic maybe, but again that was repetitive of the interactions with the husband).Â
Now, if you are looking for vibes - I do think this collection has them, sapphic, haunting, confused, patriarchal horror - but even those vibes felt more like wisps to me.Â
Would not recommend - her memoir is so much better, refined, takes what starts here and improves significantly.Â
First person was used throughout most of the stories (I think the svu one was the only exception). As a result, there’s little character development, so little to hold onto in terms of understanding who is the protagonist in these stories. Many of whom don’t know who they are either (a theme throughout) but that confusion, the truncated writing style, it felt hollow. Almost every story could be interpreted to have the same MC - I don’t know if that’s intentional or not but I think speaks to how little character building was done.Â
You can see the beginnings of the memoir here too - but the memoir works so much better because the voice of the MC (the author) has clarity, perspective, and more depth. It’s grounded - even as the writing is creative and genre bending.
I never thought I’d say this about a short story collection but these stories were too long. They went on and on and went nowhere at the same time. The repetition was almost enough that I was going to dnf.Â
At the end of the day - I did not get it. I think this was written in a vague way, all vibes and little substance, playing with confusion & liminality intentionally but failed in execution.
I’m also genuinely shocked at the first story being lauded so much - I read the original of that story and didn’t feel like this brought that much difference or newness to it (the son dynamic maybe, but again that was repetitive of the interactions with the husband).Â
Now, if you are looking for vibes - I do think this collection has them, sapphic, haunting, confused, patriarchal horror - but even those vibes felt more like wisps to me.Â
Would not recommend - her memoir is so much better, refined, takes what starts here and improves significantly.Â
marianasreadings's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
nancyazc's review
3.0
Some stories I loved (The Husband Stitch, Inventory, Eight Bites) but for the most part I found myself want to rush through the book to complete it. The writing is fantastic but for me some stories (Especially Heinous specifically) ended taking me out of the world and no longer interested.
notartgarfunkel's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rhoudeboy's review
3.0
I must preface this review by saying that I don’t love short stories as a baseline. So that already made this a harder read.
Carmen Maria Machado is a stupendous writer and this is no different, I wish every single story had a full novel. Some (not all) stories were twisted, creepy, and delicious. But as a collection it wasn’t as strong a work as I would’ve expected.
Carmen Maria Machado is a stupendous writer and this is no different, I wish every single story had a full novel. Some (not all) stories were twisted, creepy, and delicious. But as a collection it wasn’t as strong a work as I would’ve expected.