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briandice's review
4.0
Fifteen stories, some extremely short, combined to clock-in at less than 100 pages. The writing is beautiful - Kauffman clips sentences together like the furrowed rows in the rural places the stories are set. Some pieces are too short to ever take hold; others are glorious in their understated terse language.
My copy of this book is an advanced copy, uncorrected proof purchased from John Barth's estate sale last year. It has that sun-damaged, long shelf wear that I love, the cover is bespeckled like the freckles that come from too much UVA exposure. The page numbers are hand written - did Barth do those? - but the cover and spine feel fresh and unsullied. I might be the first person to read this copy. I hope I am not the last person to read this collection - Kauffman has proven to me that she has the goods, an author with the skill of Jane Smiley for telling the stories of the American farm belt.
My copy of this book is an advanced copy, uncorrected proof purchased from John Barth's estate sale last year. It has that sun-damaged, long shelf wear that I love, the cover is bespeckled like the freckles that come from too much UVA exposure. The page numbers are hand written - did Barth do those? - but the cover and spine feel fresh and unsullied. I might be the first person to read this copy. I hope I am not the last person to read this collection - Kauffman has proven to me that she has the goods, an author with the skill of Jane Smiley for telling the stories of the American farm belt.
rustbeltjessie's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jhigginbottom's review
slow-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? It's complicated
2.0
a book just being written in a woman’s perspective doesn’t make it feminist literature. way too much male-centered plots and boring ones at that
rehughes12's review
3.0
I liked some of the short stories, others didn’t do it for me. I have mixed feelings about short story collections in general, so that’s part of it. I found this book in my house with a bunch of books that my mom read in high school and college. It seems so obvious that we grew up in different waves of feminism. That is fascinating to me, but the stories themselves weren’t necessarily awe-inspiring.
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