Reviews

Gods of Want by K-Ming Chang

kellyfables's review

emotional funny fast-paced

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

3.5

natastop's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

clarawasiak's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

mxunsmiley's review against another edition

5.0

Realizing once again that surrealism is my favorite style of art. This collection is greatly creative to me, sometimes grotesque and other times surprisingly tender. I loved her often strange metaphors and figurative language, how she brought the oddest things literally to life. Probably one of the more interesting contemporary writers out there right now, as I also noted in Bestiary, her debut work which I also enjoyed a lot.

jinbin's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

jmontg18's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

moth_dance's review against another edition

5.0

Wildly weird short stories. Exactly what I want from a contemporary short story collection. Each one stands out as complex magical-realism diasporic fables that are as unique as they feel universal.

I'm glad I took my time with this one, too. Obviously, I lived for the Moths section at the end of the book. “Mariela” completely stole my heart (and right after finishing a very disappointing historical fiction arc...) Following these two friends around during their brutal exploration of each other and their world had just the right amount of raw and alert details. It felt like an a24 short; my love language basically.

oroseo's review

dark emotional funny fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

strange and delightful and dark and grotesque in such a tangible way and very very gay. loved these short stories!

the_wistful_word_witch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Gods of Want was a strangely compelling book. The stories were interesting and even haunting, but I don't know that I'd say I "liked" them. I was left intrigued, confused, and wondering wtf I just read.

The writing is quite evocative, bringing the surrealness of the stories to vibrant life. Flashes of images cropping up in my mind - raccoons in a sailboat, a parade of brothers, a weeping ceiling above a mattress-less bedframe, a kiss for good fortune... 

Some of my fave quotes:
"I want to unbutton the stars with my fingers and forget them inside my fist." 
"We've been listening to your prayers without needing subtitles, we've been fluent in you forever."
"she was interested in moon watching, which she told me was not the same as just looking at the moon - moonwatching was the process by which you wooed a woman down from her night perch."
"Outside, I could hear the stars hit the roof like rain."

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Content Warnings

Minor: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death, Animal death, and Suicidal thoughts

anmoore14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

4.0