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sarahreadsaverylot's review against another edition
5.0
Stark, bleak, dark, but somehow brimming with vitality and humanity. These stories have weight, heat, breath, teeth. They will punch you in the stomach and squeeze your heart. This is folklore for the 20th/21st century.
yaelm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
crowyhead's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great collection of creepy fairy-tale-esque stories from Ludmilla Petrushevskaya. The stories are often surreal, and Petrushevskaya's matter-of-fact style sometimes makes them less horrifying, but most of the time it compounds the matter. Sometimes the stories reminded me a bit of Kelly Link, but without the whimsy that I tend to associate with her, sort of like if you sucked all the warmth and humor out of a Kelly Link story... I realize that this does not make it sound like I recommend the book, but I absolutely do. And it's not as though there aren't happy endings here, it's just that there is often horror on the way.
Anyway, in short, loved this. It will be lodged in my head for years, I think.
Anyway, in short, loved this. It will be lodged in my head for years, I think.
bibliophagic's review against another edition
3.0
The subtitle 'Scary Fairy Tales' doesn't really seem to do this collection justice. Petrushevskaya continues on in the grand tradition of Gogol with what my non-English major ass calls Russian Magical Realism but probably has its own fancy name. Anyhow, the stories and vignettes are full of dingy Soviet imagery liberally salted with absurd allegory and spooky echoes of children's stories. I like it.
britts326's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
audreyapproved's review against another edition
1.0
Not fun to read. And not in a this-makes-me-uncomfortable kind of way, but more of an I-don't-get-it-and-don't-care-to-get-it mentality.
"Hygiene" was by far my favorite piece from the collection, but overall found everything way more confusing than scary. Very frequently I finished a story, thought "huh, what did I miss?" and then moved on because I didn't care enough to actually try and dig into that question. Not a good sign!
"Hygiene" was by far my favorite piece from the collection, but overall found everything way more confusing than scary. Very frequently I finished a story, thought "huh, what did I miss?" and then moved on because I didn't care enough to actually try and dig into that question. Not a good sign!
aastha2002's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
gettyhesse's review against another edition
4.0
Most of these stories are uncanny, unsettling, ambiguous, and anarchically amoral, just like the best old folk stories. As one reads one story after another, a feeling of dread slowly settles upon you. The story “Hygeine” was the first piece of writing in a year or more to make me literally gasp aloud in horror.
There are, however, two stories that I disliked, both toward the very end: the strangely slapstick and offensively fatphobic “Marilena’s Secret” and the darkly farcical and religiously moralistic “The Old Monk’s Testament.” Perhaps incidentally they both undercut the dread generated by the rest of the collection.
There are, however, two stories that I disliked, both toward the very end: the strangely slapstick and offensively fatphobic “Marilena’s Secret” and the darkly farcical and religiously moralistic “The Old Monk’s Testament.” Perhaps incidentally they both undercut the dread generated by the rest of the collection.
an_enthusiastic_reader's review against another edition
3.0
These tales are disembodied, free-floating entities, not fully realized and hovering between reality and the dreamy unconscious. Interesting as artifact, but not entirely satisfying to read full-on.
aaronlindsey's review against another edition
4.0
There once lived a book of short stories and it was beautiful!
These stories each read like a dream. They really are "Scary Fairy Tales" and Ludmilla Petrushevskaya is a wonderful writer.
These stories each read like a dream. They really are "Scary Fairy Tales" and Ludmilla Petrushevskaya is a wonderful writer.