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lolosadcat's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jeregenest's review against another edition
4.0
These short stories, and some of them were quite short, were all very movig and powerful. I was impressed by her vision and the strength of her words that came through translation.
beaniebaby3000's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tovejansson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Notable stories: There’s someone in the house, the black coat, the new Robinson crusoes
ambra_'s review against another edition
3.0
Three stars thanks to the well-written stories 'There's someone in the house' and 'The black coat'.
The other stories all disappointed me. I read reviews saying these stories are in line with Gogol and Dostoyevski. Petrushevskaya has been called a contemporary Tolstoy. So I had the highest of hopes: stories like those of my favourite writers, but with less of the sexism and racism due to being written by a woman in the 21-century?
I wanted to like this book so badly. I wanted to love it. But I felt like the stories were repetitive, the characters had no depth and the underlying themes and messages had as least as much sexism and racism seeping through as all the - nonetheless beloved - old Russian classics.
I'm gonna read Petrushevskaya's autobiography soon. I have watched hours worth of interviews with her and I deeply admired her. She's been through hell and back and I hope her autobiography captures everything she's seen better than her fictional works.
The other stories all disappointed me. I read reviews saying these stories are in line with Gogol and Dostoyevski. Petrushevskaya has been called a contemporary Tolstoy. So I had the highest of hopes: stories like those of my favourite writers, but with less of the sexism and racism due to being written by a woman in the 21-century?
I wanted to like this book so badly. I wanted to love it. But I felt like the stories were repetitive, the characters had no depth and the underlying themes and messages had as least as much sexism and racism seeping through as all the - nonetheless beloved - old Russian classics.
I'm gonna read Petrushevskaya's autobiography soon. I have watched hours worth of interviews with her and I deeply admired her. She's been through hell and back and I hope her autobiography captures everything she's seen better than her fictional works.
madsrgreen's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-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
3.75
ajpurcell97's review against another edition
3.0
(2.5) I wish it was more captivating. Maybe just not for me.
littlemimus's review against another edition
2.0
The title and synopsis of the book promised something new and creepy, if not gory. What I found inside was less exciting and I felt cheated. I mean, the ideas were interesting and had potential. However, the execution of many was less than satisfactory. My main problem is that it wasn't scary, as the title suggests. I wanted more fear incitement and gore, details that would make me recoil and shudder rather than fall asleep, which is what happened for many of the stories. I wanted to care about the characters. Many stories were predictable, so when the 'twist' came, I was prepared and therefore nonchalant. The most I can rate this book is 2.5 stars.
Many of the stories felt too short in length. While I understand they are written in the form of traditional fireplace stories, which are supposed to be short and sweet, it made some stories feel incomplete. I could easily pick them apart and find plot holes or things that needed more explaining. I feel like something is missing. Maybe that just means I'm too judgemental. There were some stories I enjoyed in this collection, such as Miracles and Marilena's Secret. However, these stories are all over ten pages long, are better developed in my opinion and have a stronger hook for me. They weren't dark in particular but were written well. That's the problem with anthologies, which is that not all of the stories will interest me enough to invest my time equally with them. I end up skimming some.
The writing is interesting. It is very direct, sometimes strangely phrased, which is a different way of telling horror stories, but could be because the writing is translated from Russian. It feels very structured and I'm not sure I really liked that, though I don't hate it either.
All in all, the anthology was okay. It could have been so much better in my opinion, but the ideas very very intriguing and I did enjoy reading some of the stories. It was not a waste of time.
Many of the stories felt too short in length. While I understand they are written in the form of traditional fireplace stories, which are supposed to be short and sweet, it made some stories feel incomplete. I could easily pick them apart and find plot holes or things that needed more explaining. I feel like something is missing. Maybe that just means I'm too judgemental. There were some stories I enjoyed in this collection, such as Miracles and Marilena's Secret. However, these stories are all over ten pages long, are better developed in my opinion and have a stronger hook for me. They weren't dark in particular but were written well. That's the problem with anthologies, which is that not all of the stories will interest me enough to invest my time equally with them. I end up skimming some.
The writing is interesting. It is very direct, sometimes strangely phrased, which is a different way of telling horror stories, but could be because the writing is translated from Russian. It feels very structured and I'm not sure I really liked that, though I don't hate it either.
All in all, the anthology was okay. It could have been so much better in my opinion, but the ideas very very intriguing and I did enjoy reading some of the stories. It was not a waste of time.
macbean221b's review against another edition
3.0
I have to question the strength of the translations in this book, but I felt the last section of stories made up for what the earlier ones seemed, to me, to lack.
jeremyhornik's review against another edition
5.0
Terrific. Creepy, dreamlike and disorienting. Stories of mothers and children and fathers and death. Very short, simple tales... almost parables... but you can lose yourself in them.
You can read the title story here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120989593
It will make you want more.
You can read the title story here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120989593
It will make you want more.