Reviews

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King

kimbermorgan's review

4.0

I’m a little surprised at the low rating for this book, and I’m curious why, but won’t read the reviews because I don’t want anyone’s opinion to spoil my own. I really enjoyed this. I thought the stories were captivating, and lovely. Such different depictions of love and desire and pain and suffering. I’ve been sitting on Euphoria by Lily King for a while, and this made me want to finally pick it up and read it. My only confusion is the title and how it relates to the story. The title is five Tuesday’s, but there’s ten stories, none of which seem to happen specifically on a Tuesday. So I’d like to understand why the title is what it is. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this. I thought the writing was really well done and really felt immersive. I love when you read a short story and it doesn’t feel like anything is missing or there are a lot of unanswered questions. This was like going around a table with friends and hearing stories about moments in their lives. They were complete and captivating.

rosemwood's review

4.0

3.5 rating. I must confess I am not a fan of short stories. With that knowledge this is a literary fiction of ten short stories. I listened to this and each story is read by a different narrator. This book made me happy one minute and sad another and confused. The stories do not have a clear ending. Some just ended and left me confused. What I found is that the author let us see a slice of each characters life. A glimpse into a certain period in each ordinary person's life.

elstanley's review

hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

hillary_charlotte's review

4.0

Excellent collection of short stories!

annaoallen's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

All of the stories were gut-wrenching for different reasons. Lily King writes very diverse characters and does it extremely well. I would read this book again.

thebookishnic's review

emotional lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.25

rhamstra's review

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

meghan_plethoraofpages's review

4.0

This short story collection was such a beautiful introduction to this author for me! The author explores emotion through ten different stories, through ten unique characters. The everyday and ordinary stories of people are compelling. After each story I had to take a little break, as each story made me feel something different and I wasn’t quite ready to let go at each conclusion.

I’ve started dabbling in short story collections over the past year or two, and apparently I’m a huge fan! I love how when done well, the stories offer up so much despite so few words. I enjoyed the majority of this collection immensely; a few were just okay, but I think that has a lot to do with personal preference and also the comfort (or discomfort) a story might evoke.

It’s so interesting how the author pulls you right into someone’s life, we are blasted with a snippet, with feeling, and then it ends. I read a story or two before bed over the course of nearly a week, and each left a lingering feeling or thought.

Undoubtedly I’ll soon be reading Lily King’s backlist novels. Thank you so much to Grove Press and to Netgalley for a free e-copy of this collection. It is available now! All opinions are my own.

ashleyraemc's review

4.0

Like most short story collections there were some hits and misses. After not liking Writers & Lovers I was a little skeptical at first but found myself enjoying most of these stories.

I think I’ve realized I need too be in the right mood for Kings writing and this time around I was. I might try to reread Writers & Lovers again now, to see if I like it more.

qraiqe's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0