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abby_griesmar's review against another edition
3.0
Some of the short stories in the collection were good. Others were a bit boring and dragged on a bit. Overall interesting to see a different cultures beliefs, and perspectives through short stories.
bookslucyreads's review against another edition
3.0
This is a collection of fairytales that are a little strange. I enjoyed some of the tales and others were okay but a few I couldn’t really get into. The tales aren’t scary but there is a sinister feel to some of them. They don’t follow the traditional fairy tale setting and instead they focus on for example being trapped in a flat.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
4.0
I'm new to Petrushevskaya so I didn't know what to expect when I read this -- wow. Punch in the gut at times, like Aimee Bender or Angela Carter on crack!
drskdsrihari's review against another edition
4.0
This is a collection of nineteen short stories that reflect the agony, suffering and helplessness of the ordinary Russian citizen ,especially women in the past decades.
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To understand Ludmilla's writing ,it is crucial to understand her native country ,Russia and it's people .This is a harsh country with a history of harsh governments ,harsh weathers ,harsh famines and harsh revolutions and people who have managed to survive through it all .Ludmilla ,herself, never had it easy .She grew up in Bolshevik Russia in communal apartments and homes ,because her father abandoned the family.Although ,she began writing in the 1960s ,her work was censored ,maybe because her prose is utterly sincere and reflects bitter truths😃 .The publication of her works and the due recognition arrived only after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
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All her characters find themselves stuck in a tunnel forged out of misery,loss,death,hunger and try to escape desperately.They ultimately see the light at the end and manage to come out ,only to discover that they have lost a vital part of themselves in the journey. Every character has a sad tale.Every character is desperate to survive.Every character drifts between different worlds.Her stories were haunting and foreboding and I definitely want to read more.
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
To understand Ludmilla's writing ,it is crucial to understand her native country ,Russia and it's people .This is a harsh country with a history of harsh governments ,harsh weathers ,harsh famines and harsh revolutions and people who have managed to survive through it all .Ludmilla ,herself, never had it easy .She grew up in Bolshevik Russia in communal apartments and homes ,because her father abandoned the family.Although ,she began writing in the 1960s ,her work was censored ,maybe because her prose is utterly sincere and reflects bitter truths😃 .The publication of her works and the due recognition arrived only after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
All her characters find themselves stuck in a tunnel forged out of misery,loss,death,hunger and try to escape desperately.They ultimately see the light at the end and manage to come out ,only to discover that they have lost a vital part of themselves in the journey. Every character has a sad tale.Every character is desperate to survive.Every character drifts between different worlds.Her stories were haunting and foreboding and I definitely want to read more.
faceless_being's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kfan's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this. Modern fairy tales, but in a style that's feels faithful, traditional, in the way the tale meander, end abruptly, or leave you in a place where you're not sure how you got there. Curious to read other stuff by the author.
librarycatnip's review against another edition
dark
funny
slow-paced
2.0
Wasn't the sort of fairy tale inspired stuff I was looking for.
lizdesole's review against another edition
3.0
Some of these stories were enjoyable but it had gotten so much hype that I was expecting more. It gave a good sense of how bleak Russia was behind the red curtain but I found the stories for the most part to be too straight-forward and dry for the genre. After all these are essentially fairy tales and I think many of them needed more embellishment. Some of the stories brought to mind Anais Nin for me -too dry to be truly compelling . Not a goose bump in the lot for me