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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Deeply odd. Semplica girls, victory lap, escape from spider head were my favorites.
An unusual style and a unique voice. This collection of short stories will stay with me for a while. I certainly never read anything quite like this. It mixes humor, social criticism, and melancholy in perfect nuggets. This book was my introduction to Mr. Saunders and it makes me want to read “Lincoln in the Bardo” even more.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A friend lent me Tenth of December back in… we don’t need to know when actually. The point is, I finished and returned Tenth of December to its owner a different person than who I was before borrowing it.
Having read Civilwarland in Bad Decline, Saunders is not a new author to me. He’s one of those writers where I respect his craft, but his stories drive me up the wall. To Tenth of December’s credit, it didn’t make me want to climb so much as scream into the sky. Like in Civilwarland, every short story protagonist seems to be a version of Saunders himself–a downtrodden, hard-working, and sweaty guy (or gal, but mostly guy) who is Trying Their Best. These stories are also inter-connected in terms of setting and in their interrogation of classism, late-stage capitalism, medical exploitation, and the working class. Tenth’s new areas of thoughts shone brighter–I especially enjoyed the ponderings on language and code-switching. Every person has a wondrous world and high-fluentin’ feelings inside them, but this beauty goes unacknowledged when someone doesn’t use high class language. Race haunts the narrative, but is not necessarily looked at directly. “The Semplica-Girl Diaries” made me put the book down for a bit.
How the book changed me was now I read other things and think “Saunders would have phrased that better.” Which is just one of the worst instances of eating crow I’ve had this year. Goddamnit, Tenth of December is good.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I seem to have a thing for weird short stories and this is just that. saunders has such a gift for dropping you in the story and hoping you find your bearings. this collection reminds me that your imagination is so important. I think my favorites were "puppy" and "semplica girl diaries."
I loved a few of the stories hard, was meh on others. Plowing through it is the wrong approach, as they are all rather bleak and affecting, so getting it as an audiobook was probably a mistake. Take the time to savor each one so you don't burn out.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This collection of 10 short stories is nothing short of brilliant. *Tenth of December* is so touching and thought-provoking. My favorites were “Puppy” and “The Semplica Girl Diaries,” both of which made me think about my own family and parenting journey in powerful ways. Every story left me with something to think about. Will definitely be reading again and again!