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book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
Ever since I studied O Henry and Edgar Allan Poe in junior high, I have loved short stories. With this collection, Kristin Valdez Quade is added to my list of authors who have perfected this format.
It’s difficult to rate a collection, because some of the stories resonate more with me than others. Quade gives us ten beautifully written stories in this collection.
In The Five Wounds Amadeo tries to atone for past (and current) failures by playing the part of Jesus in the annual Good Friday re-enactment of the crucifixion, while his pregnant teen-aged daughter looks on. Andrea struggles between hating the wealthy land owner who employs her father, and desperately wishing she could be more like his daughter, Parker in Jubilee. In Mojave Rats Monica is feeling trapped with her two daughters, seven-year-old Cordelia and the infant Beatrice, in a sparsely populated trailer park, while her husband is off doing fieldwork for his Ph.D. Pregnant Crystal has found work and maybe a little hope as a secretary for the local parish priest in Original Sins. When the reader meets Frances in Night at the Fiestas, “she is pretending to be someone else, someone whose father is not the bus driver.”
What Quade’s characters share is that desire to “be someone else” and/or somewhere else, but no real means of achieving that. They dream, but are somehow powerless to change their circumstances, falling back on old patterns of behavior, afraid to let go of their past to head into the future.
Quade’s short story collection won the National Book Critics Circle Award for John Leonard Prize in 2015, and Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction (2016). She was named a National Book Foundation “Five Under Thirty-Five” Author.
It’s difficult to rate a collection, because some of the stories resonate more with me than others. Quade gives us ten beautifully written stories in this collection.
In The Five Wounds Amadeo tries to atone for past (and current) failures by playing the part of Jesus in the annual Good Friday re-enactment of the crucifixion, while his pregnant teen-aged daughter looks on. Andrea struggles between hating the wealthy land owner who employs her father, and desperately wishing she could be more like his daughter, Parker in Jubilee. In Mojave Rats Monica is feeling trapped with her two daughters, seven-year-old Cordelia and the infant Beatrice, in a sparsely populated trailer park, while her husband is off doing fieldwork for his Ph.D. Pregnant Crystal has found work and maybe a little hope as a secretary for the local parish priest in Original Sins. When the reader meets Frances in Night at the Fiestas, “she is pretending to be someone else, someone whose father is not the bus driver.”
What Quade’s characters share is that desire to “be someone else” and/or somewhere else, but no real means of achieving that. They dream, but are somehow powerless to change their circumstances, falling back on old patterns of behavior, afraid to let go of their past to head into the future.
Quade’s short story collection won the National Book Critics Circle Award for John Leonard Prize in 2015, and Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction (2016). She was named a National Book Foundation “Five Under Thirty-Five” Author.
dajenny's review against another edition
3.0
The prose is well-crafted and original, and the characters were real to me. Unfortunately, it felt as though several stories in this collection were left unfinished. This may say more about me than it does about Quade's writing; unfortunately, this has been my reaction to many modern short stories.
glendareads39's review against another edition
4.0
Emotionally beautiful. There are family related themes such as faith, coming of age etc.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like with short stories, you either immediately buy in to whatever weirdness the author presents, or you don't. I was able to find that entry point quickly with this collection by 5 Under 35 Honoree Kirstin Valdez Quade. The stories, most set in rural New Mexico and centered around themes of family ties and obligations, had me hooked within the first page.
My favorite story, “Canute Commands the Tides,” wasn't my favorite because it left me feeling warm and fuzzy. It actually made me pretty damn uncomfortable. I related to the central character so hard—this well-meaning, liberal white woman who, in romanticizing the life of her Hispanic cleaning woman, ends up abandoning all her cozy ideals when confronted with a hard dose of reality. I could see myself doing the same things she did, congratulating myself on my broadmindedness, then turning tail and running once I learned how things really are.
Yeah...not always comfortable when we recognize a piece of ourselves in a less than perfect character. Even though it's not always pleasant, I don't mind a book that humbles me every now and then.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
My favorite story, “Canute Commands the Tides,” wasn't my favorite because it left me feeling warm and fuzzy. It actually made me pretty damn uncomfortable. I related to the central character so hard—this well-meaning, liberal white woman who, in romanticizing the life of her Hispanic cleaning woman, ends up abandoning all her cozy ideals when confronted with a hard dose of reality. I could see myself doing the same things she did, congratulating myself on my broadmindedness, then turning tail and running once I learned how things really are.
Yeah...not always comfortable when we recognize a piece of ourselves in a less than perfect character. Even though it's not always pleasant, I don't mind a book that humbles me every now and then.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
redroofcolleen's review against another edition
4.0
Painful in their honesty and violence, these stories are beautiful in the telling but difficult to endure.
spacebee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
chelseamartinez's review against another edition
5.0
I loved all of these stories. There is a very specific current of polite-woman-filling-with-rage-regret-and-circuitous-anger that runs through almost all of them; the way a lot of the characters respond/react/reflect their family and their surroundings is so close the way I experienced being out in the world when I was younger (and a majority of the protagonists in this collection are young Latinas). In particular, a specific way of feeling as though having awful thoughts or angry feelings make you disloyal, and a particular way that "lucky" (good or bad) events play out are so realistic, or at least match my specific non-realistic view of the world.
Favorites
1) Mojave Rats
2) The Five Wounds
3) The Guest House
4) Jubilee
5) Ordinary Sins
Favorites
1) Mojave Rats
2) The Five Wounds
3) The Guest House
4) Jubilee
5) Ordinary Sins
dylanperry's review against another edition
5.0
Night at the Fiestas is in that rare 1% of short story collections wherein each story is a home run. I'm trying to think of another collection to compare it with, and there is (for me) none. It's rare when I'm enjoying a book so much I actually force myself to slow down and savor it, but even the two weeks I spent with this flew by far too quickly. This is a breathtaking debut collection that has put Kirstin Valdez Quade up there with my other favorite short story writers--George Saunders, Junot Diaz, and Andre Dubus III. I will read anything she puts out.
In 2018 I plan on rereading some books I've given 5 stars to see if they hold up to a second reading, and you can believe Night at the Fiestas will be among them. I'm already anticipating returning to these stories, and if that isn't the mark of great writing, then I don't know what is.
In 2018 I plan on rereading some books I've given 5 stars to see if they hold up to a second reading, and you can believe Night at the Fiestas will be among them. I'm already anticipating returning to these stories, and if that isn't the mark of great writing, then I don't know what is.
lizmart88's review against another edition
3.0
Let's start with the good - the stories are full of interesting characters and situations. I really enjoyed reading them. It's set in the Southwest United States and features lots of Latino and Mexican American culture.
The art of short stories is knowing when to end, when the characters have developed (quickly) and reached a turning point. I'm not sure these stories are well developed enough to have reached that point.
The other drawback is that many of these stories seem too similar. They tend to run together with similar characters and settings and dynamics.
All in all,a good story collection. I recommend if you're a fan of Southwest fiction especially!
The art of short stories is knowing when to end, when the characters have developed (quickly) and reached a turning point. I'm not sure these stories are well developed enough to have reached that point.
The other drawback is that many of these stories seem too similar. They tend to run together with similar characters and settings and dynamics.
All in all,a good story collection. I recommend if you're a fan of Southwest fiction especially!