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inkletter7's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kjboldon's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Whew. These stories really laid me out. For a short book it is dense with information and emotion. These linked stories, some closely linked, others not, are all set in the rural west of mostly Colorado, where things like farms and water and relationship to government are very different from anywhere else in the states. They focus on women, mostly, with sisters, mothers and daughter.relationships.featured prominently. There are a few good men, and a lot of disappointing ones. Like the landscape, these stories can be emotionally tough and chewy, like jerky, but also lovely and arid, like sage and mountains. Climate and animals and conservation run deep under all these stories, the background to the very human, very flawed, so very beautiful humans in the foreground. As one of three sisters, I think the sisters are my favorite, but each story yielded a different standout right up to the end with Gracie and Fran. This is not an easy book, but it's a stunningly beautiful one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Animal death
chipperd's review
5.0
I very very much enjoyed this book. Well crafted sentences and story structure, common threads between the short stories make you smile, descriptors of Colorado and the sky and the sage brush and personal relationships, so well done! She reminds me a little of Larry Brown the southern writer. Claire has made me a lover of short stories again.
roenfoe's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I wish I had time to write this review when I first read this book two months ago, as my thoughts were much clearer then. I will do my best to summarize what I can remember and what is contained in my notes.
Site Fidelity is an excellent short story collection; tight and concise, yet lyrical in its narratives. The stories are loosely connected, but never overstep each others' themes or become muddied. There wasn't a single chapter that I felt should be removed- in fact, I would have loved to spend even more time with Site Fidelity, though its short length made it bittersweet in a way.
The major concepts of the work (eco-feminism, womanhood out west, ecological destruction, destructive relationships, etc.) weave throughout each story, but the individual sections also address various other ideas in a self-contained manner. I resonated with many of the female characters and their pain, and was moved to tears multiple times while reading. It is hard to describe the uniquely female perspective captured by Boyles, but it was spot-on. There is an undercurrent of female-based trauma throughout all of Site Fidelity; this raw, emotional streak made the female characters seem all the more tangible.
My only major criticism of Site Fidelity is its notable lack of indigenous perspectives/characters. To me, it feels almost impossible to write a work based on the concepts of ecological destruction and female pain set in the West without indigenous characters. That is not to say that indigenous people should be characterized solely by the injustices that they have suffered; rather, it feels disingenuous not to include the experiences of indigenous women in this context, considering the historical relevance of their experiences and their continued oppression (and erasure) in the modern day.
Site Fidelity is an excellent short story collection; tight and concise, yet lyrical in its narratives. The stories are loosely connected, but never overstep each others' themes or become muddied. There wasn't a single chapter that I felt should be removed- in fact, I would have loved to spend even more time with Site Fidelity, though its short length made it bittersweet in a way.
The major concepts of the work (eco-feminism, womanhood out west, ecological destruction, destructive relationships, etc.) weave throughout each story, but the individual sections also address various other ideas in a self-contained manner. I resonated with many of the female characters and their pain, and was moved to tears multiple times while reading. It is hard to describe the uniquely female perspective captured by Boyles, but it was spot-on. There is an undercurrent of female-based trauma throughout all of Site Fidelity; this raw, emotional streak made the female characters seem all the more tangible.
My only major criticism of Site Fidelity is its notable lack of indigenous perspectives/characters. To me, it feels almost impossible to write a work based on the concepts of ecological destruction and female pain set in the West without indigenous characters. That is not to say that indigenous people should be characterized solely by the injustices that they have suffered; rather, it feels disingenuous not to include the experiences of indigenous women in this context, considering the historical relevance of their experiences and their continued oppression (and erasure) in the modern day.
deweydecimalsisters's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
margereadsanotherbook's review
informative
reflective
tense
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? No
4.25
fencewalker's review
3.0
I enjoyed this but it was a very localized as a white rural Coloradan interpretation of nature. Which I mean the author is so it's not surprising, but it wasn't particularly fresh or new collection of ideas. The best stories to me were Man Camp and Flood Stories, but none of the rest were very engaging to me. The collection does follow a close cast of characters over the span of many years, so if that sort of interconnectedness interests you you might enjoy this!
I did like the author's writing style. I just wasn't as enthralled with the topics. I was hoping they'd be more heavily focused on nature (which is on me and my expectations).
I did like the author's writing style. I just wasn't as enthralled with the topics. I was hoping they'd be more heavily focused on nature (which is on me and my expectations).
ctrl_shift_dlt's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5