Reviews

Sing to It by Amy Hempel

danamckenna's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

sofiamarielg's review

1.0

I enjoy Amy Hempel's writing, but this collection was forgettable and unnecessary. Some of the stories are a mere couple of paragraphs in length, sometimes less, and the one story that occupies the latter half of the book is kind of interesting but simply not enough to make any kind of impact.

philibin's review against another edition

3.0

(2.5 Stars)

This was a good collection of Short Stories read by the author. She has a very good cadence with her words and keeps a great pace and remains interesting.

amylynn79's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? No

4.0

chiyeungreads's review

4.0

This is Hempel’s first collection in fifteen years. I fear this might be her last. Nonetheless I am blown away again by Hempel’s compassion, tenderness and her ability to make me shed a tear with as little words as possible. My favorite stories in this collection were Chicane and Cloudland, both longer stories that showcase Hempel’s ability to write beautiful prose and heart-wrenching narratives in all lengths. This collection signifies an end to an movement in my opinion. As the minimalist writers of Gordon Lish’s era pass away, who are left? Hempel is one of the few that are still here and I pray she is with us forever.

steveshik's review

hopeful medium-paced

3.0

vani_in_wonderland_'s review

medium-paced

3.5

The initial few stories were honestly not that engaging but ones that worked knocked it out the park for me. 
'The Chicane', 'Greed', 'Four Calls in the Last Half Hour', 'The Correct Grip' are clear standouts from this collection.
Hempel knows how to pack a punch in even half a page story but it is the longest one, 'Cloudland', in which woman reckons with the choice she made as a teenager to give up her newborn infant, that left me a in hangover. Hempel introduces her characters in peculiar settings, yet they seem very relatable.

chachachuy's review

mysterious reflective slow-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

3.0

Para compartir con amigas.

Cuentos favoritos de la Caro. A mí me entró por un ojo y me salió por el otro.

miagengr's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

michellekmartin's review against another edition

4.0

This was my first Amy Hempel and she really is a master of the short story. I was impressed with how sparse the stories were and how much depth she was able to pack into them. I think I underlined just about half of this collection while reading! This was a quick read and it had me eager to check out her other stories.