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cheye13's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Sungold, A Talking Cure
⭐️⭐️⭐️: Carol Alone, Saint Wade, Gregory's Year
⭐️⭐️: Adan Olam, Mike's Song, Poets
⭐️: Flings, After Ellen, A Night Out, The Happy Valley
The writing was very literary and I enjoyed the style, but I did not enjoy the content of the stories. I did not understand what was meant to be conveyed in most of them. Many of them feature lackluster or completely unlikeable characters, and while I don't typically mind that, there seemed to be nothing but the characters carrying the stories.
⭐️⭐️⭐️: Carol Alone, Saint Wade, Gregory's Year
⭐️⭐️: Adan Olam, Mike's Song, Poets
⭐️: Flings, After Ellen, A Night Out, The Happy Valley
The writing was very literary and I enjoyed the style, but I did not enjoy the content of the stories. I did not understand what was meant to be conveyed in most of them. Many of them feature lackluster or completely unlikeable characters, and while I don't typically mind that, there seemed to be nothing but the characters carrying the stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Sexism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Car accident, and Infidelity
joshuabohnsack's review
5.0
This is the first book I've read in a long time where I've become engrossed with the characters and narrative of these stories.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
"Flings" is a great collection of short stories by Justin Taylor. Each story is a wholly individual story. Each story is just a snapshot of different people's lives. Each of those lives is very different and unique. If you like short stories with vivid characters and great detail, you will enjoy this collection of interestingly detailed stories.
The real treat in this book is how Taylor is able to take all of these different characters and give them their own individual voices. Admittedly, I often stay away from short stories because sometimes they feel incomplete to me (they are definitely growing on me though). One thing that Taylor did that makes this collection stand apart from any other collection is that he is able to very quickly lay out detailed worlds within each individual story, which has a tendency to engage the reader right off the bat. The stories definitely do not feel incomplete!
It's easy to tell that this book is going to be a big hit. Short stories are seeing an uprising in popularity and with authors like Taylor at the forefront, it's not hard to see why. Taylor rights writes with a sense of humor as well as great gravitas that really captures some of the beautiful and interesting moments in a person's life. Here even the ordinary is extraordinary.
While some stories I liked better than others, overall this book is a very good story collection. I know that I will be looking out for more by Justin Taylor in the future.
The real treat in this book is how Taylor is able to take all of these different characters and give them their own individual voices. Admittedly, I often stay away from short stories because sometimes they feel incomplete to me (they are definitely growing on me though). One thing that Taylor did that makes this collection stand apart from any other collection is that he is able to very quickly lay out detailed worlds within each individual story, which has a tendency to engage the reader right off the bat. The stories definitely do not feel incomplete!
It's easy to tell that this book is going to be a big hit. Short stories are seeing an uprising in popularity and with authors like Taylor at the forefront, it's not hard to see why. Taylor rights writes with a sense of humor as well as great gravitas that really captures some of the beautiful and interesting moments in a person's life. Here even the ordinary is extraordinary.
While some stories I liked better than others, overall this book is a very good story collection. I know that I will be looking out for more by Justin Taylor in the future.
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