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extracaa's review against another edition
3.0
I learned things in this book. Well made representation of reality of some person. I just don’t like when there is multiple characters and not that much happens. But it was the point of the book so… also it introduced me to oppenheimer.
lori_reads_everything's review
4.0
The Beggar's Garden is a heartbreaking but gorgeously written collection of short stories that focus on struggles ranging from poverty and homelessness, to addictions and mental illness. This is absolutely not a feel-good read - other reviews have labeled it as "depressing" and I admit that at times I struggled to finish specific stories, or found myself tearing up as I finished them.
Despite how difficult this read is, there is no arguing it's beauty, timeliness and importance. I suspect these stories will stick with me for a long time, and I am grateful to have impulsively purchased this book.
(As you may have guessed, a plethora of content warnings apply to this book - proceed with caution ❤️)
Despite how difficult this read is, there is no arguing it's beauty, timeliness and importance. I suspect these stories will stick with me for a long time, and I am grateful to have impulsively purchased this book.
(As you may have guessed, a plethora of content warnings apply to this book - proceed with caution ❤️)
ladylucky's review
2.0
Yuck. Dreadful book. I am just not a Michael Christie fan. As with his book "If I Fall, If I Die" , I found this story dull and pointless. Would not recommend it.
exurbanis's review
4.0
This collection of short stories is set in the “riotous and hellish, but strangely contained, slum of [Vancouver’s] Downtown Eastside”. This area which includes part of Hastings Street is infamous across Canada. As one of Christie’s characters observes: “It was as if the country had been tipped up at one end and all the sorry b!@#$%$s had slid west, stopping only when they reached the sea, perhaps because the sea didn’t want them either.”
Told from various points of view – the grandfather who leaves food and clothing in dumpsters that he knows his drug-addicted grandson dives, an addict who has just spent his entire welfare cheque on a giant dope trip, a woman who runs a second-hand store, and so on – the stories all intrigued me.
Short story collections always seem to have a few weaker pieces. I didn’t think this had any.
Read this if: you’re interested in knowing just how close any one of us is to being on the street; or you’d like some insight into the people in a Canadian city’s slum. 4 stars
Told from various points of view – the grandfather who leaves food and clothing in dumpsters that he knows his drug-addicted grandson dives, an addict who has just spent his entire welfare cheque on a giant dope trip, a woman who runs a second-hand store, and so on – the stories all intrigued me.
Short story collections always seem to have a few weaker pieces. I didn’t think this had any.
Read this if: you’re interested in knowing just how close any one of us is to being on the street; or you’d like some insight into the people in a Canadian city’s slum. 4 stars
monnibo's review
5.0
The writing is brilliant, strong, and humorous—but not derogatory. Christie writes straightforwardly about the characters conditions, and some stories don’t even deal with someone directly linked to the DTES, but someone they know or love.
Read my full review: http://www.monniblog.com/2011/02/the-beggars-garden-by-michael-christie/
Read my full review: http://www.monniblog.com/2011/02/the-beggars-garden-by-michael-christie/
alliways's review
4.0
Possibly closer to 4.5 stars...this was a sad yet beautiful collection of connected (ish) short stories. There were a couple I didn't enjoy as much for or had endings I was disappointed in but overall it was a beautiful collection of characters in Vancouver's notorious Downtown East side.
chalicotherex's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent short stories featuring believable people from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. My favourite was the manically paced Goodbye Porkpie Hat, about a crack addict who receives an unlikely visit from nuclear scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is interested in procuring some crack for himself. Christie excels at writing the down and out as well as the mentally unhinged. King Me is what Shutter Island should have been and Discard is a heartbreakingly sad story about a grandfather trying to help his homeless grandson.
There's only one dud in nine stories, titled The Queen of Cans and Jars. Though An Ideal Companion gets kind of sappy. The stories about working and middle class people just don't hold up to the stories that feature homelessness or mental instability.
There's only one dud in nine stories, titled The Queen of Cans and Jars. Though An Ideal Companion gets kind of sappy. The stories about working and middle class people just don't hold up to the stories that feature homelessness or mental instability.
allisonh's review against another edition
4.0
Possibly closer to 4.5 stars...this was a sad yet beautiful collection of connected (ish) short stories. There were a couple I didn't enjoy as much for or had endings I was disappointed in but overall it was a beautiful collection of characters in Vancouver's notorious Downtown East side.
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