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nancyalligood's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
ammartinez86's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
incorrectemily's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
freaky women and vague unnamed men
carissachristenson's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Armfield’s writing reminds me a bit of Carmen Maria Machado (but slightly less surreal). I liked the horror aspects (reminds me of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but for grown ups) and her language and use of descriptors is so beautiful!
jeg14's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
acstephens3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ambrose_7's review
4.0
Average Rating Per Story: 4.0 Stars (9 Stories)
Favorite story: Formally Feral. This was a stand-out one for me; it was of good length and hella disturbing. Par for the course when it comes to this collection. I loved our MC, who is not popular or pleasant. Another par for the course. Aspects of this story have stuck with me since I've read it. The wolf idea freaks me out, an animal slowly becoming a possessive, weird sister. I don't know how, but it was painted somewhat realistically, making it frightening. Don't keep wild animals as pets, y'all. It's just not a good idea.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
My least favorite story: Smack. this one didn't hit me in any way. It's about a woman getting over her divorce. She's never taken care of herself before. So she's living in filth and holed up in her ex's beach house. I didn't connect with her at any point. I don't know what the story was trying to prove. It was gross and feminist, but she felt more pathetic to me than anything. The ending felt cliche as well. 2/5 stars
Overall Impressions: Armfield reminds me of the two Eric LaRocca books I've read. She almost solely writes disturbing characters and prose. I don't think I could come up with gross details like hers even if I wanted to. The significant difference is Armfield writes tremendous feministic stories. Every story in this collection has a female MC, and every single one isn't your cookie-cutter stereotypical girl. I found beauty in this and liked that this collection had a voice. Some stories were better than others, which is what will happen when you read a collection. But I liked the book overall.
"Stop your women's ears with wax" was a close second in my favorites, although I won't leave a full review. I found the cultish feministic story about the power of music and mob mentality to ring with me. It was a hard decision between that and "Formally Feral" as my favorite. "Salt Slow" was also very good, although I felt it hard to connect with the main character. The world-building was vivid and imaginative.
I can only take this type of writing in small doses. I can't connect with it enough to want to read it more than once in a while. It is fun, though, and as always, I'm trying to broaden my metaphorical horizons. This was the second short story collection I've ever finished, and it takes its place at number one for the time being.
(ATY #45)
Favorite story: Formally Feral. This was a stand-out one for me; it was of good length and hella disturbing. Par for the course when it comes to this collection. I loved our MC, who is not popular or pleasant. Another par for the course. Aspects of this story have stuck with me since I've read it. The wolf idea freaks me out, an animal slowly becoming a possessive, weird sister. I don't know how, but it was painted somewhat realistically, making it frightening. Don't keep wild animals as pets, y'all. It's just not a good idea.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
My least favorite story: Smack. this one didn't hit me in any way. It's about a woman getting over her divorce. She's never taken care of herself before. So she's living in filth and holed up in her ex's beach house. I didn't connect with her at any point. I don't know what the story was trying to prove. It was gross and feminist, but she felt more pathetic to me than anything. The ending felt cliche as well. 2/5 stars
Overall Impressions: Armfield reminds me of the two Eric LaRocca books I've read. She almost solely writes disturbing characters and prose. I don't think I could come up with gross details like hers even if I wanted to. The significant difference is Armfield writes tremendous feministic stories. Every story in this collection has a female MC, and every single one isn't your cookie-cutter stereotypical girl. I found beauty in this and liked that this collection had a voice. Some stories were better than others, which is what will happen when you read a collection. But I liked the book overall.
"Stop your women's ears with wax" was a close second in my favorites, although I won't leave a full review. I found the cultish feministic story about the power of music and mob mentality to ring with me. It was a hard decision between that and "Formally Feral" as my favorite. "Salt Slow" was also very good, although I felt it hard to connect with the main character. The world-building was vivid and imaginative.
I can only take this type of writing in small doses. I can't connect with it enough to want to read it more than once in a while. It is fun, though, and as always, I'm trying to broaden my metaphorical horizons. This was the second short story collection I've ever finished, and it takes its place at number one for the time being.
(ATY #45)
storytold's review against another edition
4.5
This was very good and only got better as I read. It was an impulse buy and one of the few I don't regret. Honestly a champion of the short form? I anticipate returning to these often.
tori_torido's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
v7738v773's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Every carefully crafted sentence is a joy. Favourites were The Great Awake and Granite. At times I wished for a more conclusive ending and for the plot to have ‘gone somewhere’ a bit more (similar to Our Wives Under The Sea) but having read this collection, it seems less of a fault but rather the author’s individual writing character.
If I’d underlined every sentence of this book that stood out to me, I’d have marred the entire thing.
If I’d underlined every sentence of this book that stood out to me, I’d have marred the entire thing.