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chiara_h's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
maccymacd's review against another edition
3.0
A strange selection of stories. As with most short story collections, some are great and others are instantly forgettable. The first few I enjoyed a lot, then the odd one here or there jumped out at me. And there were others I found exceedingly dull. Overall an interesting reading experience.
heyfarahey's review against another edition
3.0
Birthday Stories is a collection of twelve birthday stories from the writers of Western literature. Each story left you thinking, birthdays are more than just a mere celebration, sometimes not at all. A couple of them were pretty good but some were just okay. But overall, it was not my cup of tea - you could just read it but after you finished, there would be no lingering feeling - it just stop.
Actual rating: 2.8/5 stars.
Actual rating: 2.8/5 stars.
mobyskine's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this making me emotionally numb and bitter. You won't get a happy 'happy birthday' in here, it was more to the other side of it-- secretive and strange, quite unpleasant unlike the happiest jolly you would expect from a birthday celebration. Weird how Murakami could find few others so-alike 'Murakami' and collected them together in a spine. Still having that unsettled wandering feeling after reading Birthday Girl (Murakami)-- I've read this one before in his other book. Some stories were quite thrilling and noir. My favorite would be The Birthday Present (Andrea Lee), The Bath (Raymond Carver) and Angel of Mercy, Angel of Wrath (Ethan Canin) cause of the enthralling plot and gripping characters they all have, quite fascinating (although with open ending). Few narratives making me realised spending a birthday with someone you love is not as happy as you would think. The diversity was great regardless of the much alike vibe and style, still get that different sensation/impression after finished reading each of them. It was okay, not that I enjoyed it a lot but very much acceptable for its different view of a happy birthday.
izzy01's review against another edition
3.0
The introduction written by Murakami is really great and sets the tone for the stories he has collected. The Moor is just Murakami's writing if he were white and lived in the US. I have no idea what Dundun tried to tell me. Same goes for Timothy's birthday and The Birthday Cake, which just left me feeling very annoyed. I enjoyed Turning, Forever Overhead, but Angel of Mercy, Angel of Wrath I once again did not understand. Andrea Lee's very long story The Birthday Present was awfully depressing, though it was well-written. The Bath was a really strong novel, besides Murakami's I reckon I liked it the best. The next three I'll skip mentioning because they left me feeling absolutely nothing. Then Murakami ends the collection himself with his short story The Birthday Girl, which I had read before and enjoyed, and which I also enjoyed this time around. All in all... I see why Murakami picked the stories and authors he did, but I'm not sure they're all to my taste.
sebby_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Birthday Stories was previously published in a Japanese translation by Haruki Murakami. In this anthology, Murakami selected 12 stories with Birthday theme and added one of his own short story. He also written a special introduction in which he shared about one of his own birthday experiences.
I immensely like "The Moor" by Russell Banks, "The Birthday Cake" by Daniel Lyons, "The Bath" by Raymond Carver, and "Close to the Water's Edge" by Claire Keegan. The rests are interesting read, too, including Murakami's Birthday Girl. But I just feel like they are not as gripping as the above mentioned stories.
I immensely like "The Moor" by Russell Banks, "The Birthday Cake" by Daniel Lyons, "The Bath" by Raymond Carver, and "Close to the Water's Edge" by Claire Keegan. The rests are interesting read, too, including Murakami's Birthday Girl. But I just feel like they are not as gripping as the above mentioned stories.
minsies's review against another edition
2.0
(Dug review out of the depths of LiveJournal.)
It's a pretty depressing collection overall (though more depressing for me because I'd already read Murakami's contribution in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman). It's what I'd expected a set of birthday stories gathered by him to be like, really. I can't remember any of the stories well enough to point out anything particularly good or bad.
It's a pretty depressing collection overall (though more depressing for me because I'd already read Murakami's contribution in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman). It's what I'd expected a set of birthday stories gathered by him to be like, really. I can't remember any of the stories well enough to point out anything particularly good or bad.
clarxvizconde13's review against another edition
4.0
This is an anthology revolving around birthdays - an occasion that comes once every year of our lives. The introduction about each author per story is more or less an accurate description on what to expect the story and its writing to be. Birthdays can be happy or sad, unexpected, and even surprising - and this collection will make you feel loads of emotions about a single day that marks someone's another year in this world.