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reflective
medium-paced
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 Stars
This is without a doubt one of the strongest collections of short stories I've ever read. The stories are all on the longer side (the shortest is over 20 pages), which is exactly the kind of length I prefer. The author is incredibly skilled in describing emotion and the intricate nuances of the ways in which people interact with each other. Each of the stories immersed me and had a strong emotional impact on me. It is rare for me to find a story collection where I like every single story, so that in itself is noteworthy. I found that this collection often subverted cliches of immigrant fiction, which was refreshing to me. I feel like immigrant fiction makes up a significant portion of what I read, so it's always nice to find books that add something new to the genre.
I can't give this a full five stars because I felt that the last story petered out a bit, and it kind of made for a comparatively weaker ending to the collection as a whole. The author is incredibly skilled at writing about how old age and illness affect familial relationships, but since three of the later stories in the collection all focus on this theme, the stories felt a bit too similar together, even though each was excellent on its own.
Despite these few criticisms, I would highly recommend this collection if you're looking for more substantive stories rather than concise ones.
This is without a doubt one of the strongest collections of short stories I've ever read. The stories are all on the longer side (the shortest is over 20 pages), which is exactly the kind of length I prefer. The author is incredibly skilled in describing emotion and the intricate nuances of the ways in which people interact with each other. Each of the stories immersed me and had a strong emotional impact on me. It is rare for me to find a story collection where I like every single story, so that in itself is noteworthy. I found that this collection often subverted cliches of immigrant fiction, which was refreshing to me. I feel like immigrant fiction makes up a significant portion of what I read, so it's always nice to find books that add something new to the genre.
I can't give this a full five stars because I felt that the last story petered out a bit, and it kind of made for a comparatively weaker ending to the collection as a whole. The author is incredibly skilled at writing about how old age and illness affect familial relationships, but since three of the later stories in the collection all focus on this theme, the stories felt a bit too similar together, even though each was excellent on its own.
Despite these few criticisms, I would highly recommend this collection if you're looking for more substantive stories rather than concise ones.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes