Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - The Office of Historical Corrections

a nice collection of short stories and a novella, the office of historical corrections depicts the stories of various women, all of whom are braving against sth, w/ "richard of york...", "why wont women..." and "anything could disappear" being my favorites.

woven thruout many of the stories are both casual and uncasual racism, whose depiction that encompasses a wide range of seriousness demonstrates how corrosive it is, how constant the strain is in black characters, how it could turn fatal and life-threatening w/ the drop of a hat.

while evans explores her characters - even the unpleasant ones - interestingly enough, some of the stories stand more than others, while a few is forgettable. the book's also not as impactful as it could be, i think, but perhaps it's the author's intention to make this collection an understated one.

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lectora21's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective fast-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

4.75

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unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This collection is amazing.

Danielle Evans is a force, a talent, a gifted writer, a freaking prose deity, all of the superlatives. Every story in this collection is detailed, gripping, and emotionally charged but also incredibly pedestrian - on the surface.

Some standouts for me:

Boys Go To Jupiter: in which a phenomenally self-absorbed white girl goes to great lengths to justify her blatant racism. I have never felt more uncomfortable while reading a story, in the best way.
Why Won’t Women Just Say What They Want: in which an artist disappears for years only to reinsert himself in the public consciousness via extremely public and elaborate apologies. Everything about this one is perfect.
Anything Could Disappear: in which a young woman unintentionally kidnaps a toddler.
The Office of Historical Corrections: a novella that is simultaneously deep commentary on history and historians, racial justice, Black womanhood, the federal government, gentrification and white supremacy and also a really interesting near-future story about a woman doing her (boring) job.

👍🏻Recommended for fans of short stories and contemporary fiction. If you liked Milk, Blood, Heat by Dantiel Moniz or Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, you will enjoy this.

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paolina's review against another edition

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challenging reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A rare short story collection where I liked every story. Felt like I needed to read each slowly to really take them in.

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emyjo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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leah_alexandra's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

All the stories are good, and most left me wanting more, but it's the titular novella that really stuns. Such an impact in a small package. Everything is well-crafted, no detail feels out-of-place or superfluous.

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cheye13's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is one of the best collections I have read in a while and definitely one of the best books I've read this year. I bumped a star because some passages were a bit too rambly for me to follow and I think the more subtle messages went over my head but, boy, were they all beautiful (if painful) to read.

★★★★★|Why Won't Women Just Say What They Want; Anything Could Disappear; The Office of Historical Corrections
★★★★|Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain; Boys Go To Jupiter
★★★|Happily Ever After; Alcatraz

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