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taliaissmart's review
3.0
In this inconsistent collection, Bradley weaves alternately beautiful and unsatisfying poems and stories about latinx communities and supernatural beings. Some of the content in this book is absolutely entrancing, but some is confusing and/or poorly written.
Stop reading here if you're not interested in a case-by-case breakdown, because that's what I'm about to provide!!!
POEMS
I love most of the shorter-form poetry in this volume. Beautifully crafted phrasing and interesting, speculative concepts make for lovely poems. My favorite, perhaps, is "Three Things":
The things my love left behind:
blood spattered on the bed sheets
gold hairs coiled in my fist
a fingernail broken in the back door.
"Enough," the hoodoo woman says, "to bring her back."
I find the long-form poems perplexing and memorable, but I'm not sure that I understood them well enough to appreciate them fully. "Teratoma Lullaby" centers around a girl and her twin, a dangerous growth on her shoulder. "we come together we fall apart" is about a family made up of three sisters married to three brothers, all of whom may or may not also be the same person?? It explores sexuality in a unique way.
STORIES
"The 'Ludes" - 4.5 stars
A woman attends local music recitals while high on pills, hoping to temporarily sink into an oblivious state of mind. This effort is spoiled by the appearance of another strange concert viewer. This story is so original and well-written and engaging. I wanted to stay in it.
"Gehenesis" - 4 stars
Not for the faint of heart. A goddess of destruction and death exchanges babies' heads for sexual favors with the ultimate goal of sparking global chaos. Grim but fascinating.
"Blood Is Thicker than Water" - 1 star
Three supernaturally gifted brothers fall apart in their small town. I'm not sure what happened here, but this story is not good. Stilted dialogue and inconsistent, unbelievable characters.
"The Pearl in the Oyster, and the Oyster under Glass" - 2.5 stars
A bear-man works to save the environment despite feeling out of place in the world. This story was okay but ultimately unmemorable. It began potential threads and then abandoned them, leaving me feeling unsatisfied.
"Bilingual, or Mouth to Mouth" - 3.5 stars
Beto, a young man who can sense the essences of people by tasting things they've touched, accidentally stumbles upon the poisonous saliva of a fairy. I appreciated what this story was doing in terms of sexuality and romance, and I liked the concept, but I didn't really feel any tension (and I should have, considering that the main character's life was at stake).
I enjoyed this book, but it was definitely a mixed bag!!
Stop reading here if you're not interested in a case-by-case breakdown, because that's what I'm about to provide!!!
POEMS
I love most of the shorter-form poetry in this volume. Beautifully crafted phrasing and interesting, speculative concepts make for lovely poems. My favorite, perhaps, is "Three Things":
The things my love left behind:
blood spattered on the bed sheets
gold hairs coiled in my fist
a fingernail broken in the back door.
"Enough," the hoodoo woman says, "to bring her back."
I find the long-form poems perplexing and memorable, but I'm not sure that I understood them well enough to appreciate them fully. "Teratoma Lullaby" centers around a girl and her twin, a dangerous growth on her shoulder. "we come together we fall apart" is about a family made up of three sisters married to three brothers, all of whom may or may not also be the same person?? It explores sexuality in a unique way.
STORIES
"The 'Ludes" - 4.5 stars
A woman attends local music recitals while high on pills, hoping to temporarily sink into an oblivious state of mind. This effort is spoiled by the appearance of another strange concert viewer. This story is so original and well-written and engaging. I wanted to stay in it.
"Gehenesis" - 4 stars
Not for the faint of heart. A goddess of destruction and death exchanges babies' heads for sexual favors with the ultimate goal of sparking global chaos. Grim but fascinating.
"Blood Is Thicker than Water" - 1 star
Three supernaturally gifted brothers fall apart in their small town. I'm not sure what happened here, but this story is not good. Stilted dialogue and inconsistent, unbelievable characters.
"The Pearl in the Oyster, and the Oyster under Glass" - 2.5 stars
A bear-man works to save the environment despite feeling out of place in the world. This story was okay but ultimately unmemorable. It began potential threads and then abandoned them, leaving me feeling unsatisfied.
"Bilingual, or Mouth to Mouth" - 3.5 stars
Beto, a young man who can sense the essences of people by tasting things they've touched, accidentally stumbles upon the poisonous saliva of a fairy. I appreciated what this story was doing in terms of sexuality and romance, and I liked the concept, but I didn't really feel any tension (and I should have, considering that the main character's life was at stake).
I enjoyed this book, but it was definitely a mixed bag!!
amalelmohtar's review
4.0
Wonderfully inventive, sharp perspectives, deeply moving. Review forthcoming at Lightspeed in March.
claben's review
3.0
Not everything in this collection is a hit, but the pieces that do hit - notably Teratoma Lullaby among the poems and Gehenesis among the stories - hit hard.
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