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gorecki's review against another edition
4.0
I dived into this collection of short stories with great expectations. And all of them were met.
The title of this collection is poignant - it’s a book about men. Working men - some literally working, while others working on themselves or their problems or their pasts. Of course there are also many women, some of them main characters, sorting out the mess the men have done, others creating a mess to avenge said men. But what all of these stories have in common is Michael Dorris’s ability to swap magic and the everyday back and forth, to spin magic out of the ordinary, and to the mundane into magical tales. A ghost haunts a village in Alaska, but that’s no bother at all because everyone knows what to do. A man roams the country with a few stolen elephants, but of course no one can find them for years. A shirt is sold at a garage sale and becomes the talk of the town.
As usual, I really connected with this book because it’s mostly about people trying to figure things out. But most of them can’t, or won’t, or are incapable of doing it. There are feelings of yearning, of failing to belong, of succeeding with a price, and it kept my heart full with an array of feelings I’ve not had in a while. It’s either that or spring sadness.
The title of this collection is poignant - it’s a book about men. Working men - some literally working, while others working on themselves or their problems or their pasts. Of course there are also many women, some of them main characters, sorting out the mess the men have done, others creating a mess to avenge said men. But what all of these stories have in common is Michael Dorris’s ability to swap magic and the everyday back and forth, to spin magic out of the ordinary, and to the mundane into magical tales. A ghost haunts a village in Alaska, but that’s no bother at all because everyone knows what to do. A man roams the country with a few stolen elephants, but of course no one can find them for years. A shirt is sold at a garage sale and becomes the talk of the town.
As usual, I really connected with this book because it’s mostly about people trying to figure things out. But most of them can’t, or won’t, or are incapable of doing it. There are feelings of yearning, of failing to belong, of succeeding with a price, and it kept my heart full with an array of feelings I’ve not had in a while. It’s either that or spring sadness.
lottpoet's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
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