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yangyvonne's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of a dozen short stories, some about the same characters, some completely unique.
Although I enjoyed every one of these while reading them, once done I could not recall a single plot line within a few days without referring back to the text. I Amy not be adaptable to the low-investment format of short stories!
Although I enjoyed every one of these while reading them, once done I could not recall a single plot line within a few days without referring back to the text. I Amy not be adaptable to the low-investment format of short stories!
vwojtowicz's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Some stories, like Silver Water, were lovely. But others, like Sleepwalking were a bit off-putting and disappointing. Luckily the better ones outweighed the lesser ones.
eiseneisen's review against another edition
5.0
Come to Me is a fantastic collection of short stories that highlight author Amy Bloom's remarkable, remarkable insight into human perspectives and emotions. Each and every story is original and entertaining, and each engenders a strong emotional response in the reader. The characters populating the stories cover such a wide spectrum of circumstances, attitudes, and behaviors, that Bloom seems to be writing about the whole of humanity.
Come to Me is a brilliant and powerful collection of stories, one that I strongly recommend to anyone with an interest in psychology or the human condition.
Come to Me is a brilliant and powerful collection of stories, one that I strongly recommend to anyone with an interest in psychology or the human condition.
carson2031's review against another edition
5.0
I really like what she can make you feel. You don't want her to, but she'll do it, and you thank her later. She will make you get stuff that you can not comprehend before you read her. SOOK
karencarlson's review against another edition
4.0
After I’d read most of the stories in this collection, I went googling for some insight. I discovered Bloom was, before and during her writing career, a psychotherapist. Something clicked: the central plots of these stories could be summed up by a therapist in a sentence or two. It’s the stories’ job to show us what else there is. And these stories do their job well.
Many of the stories deal with adult romantic relationships beyond the traditional boundaries of marriage. Several deal with mental illness and/or therapeutic relationships. A couple deal with children who experience things they shouldn’t have to handle. Some include more than one of these themes. Some are linked. Many include some element of humor, but the last one leaves us laughing.
I’ve said before I’m not a huge fan of domestic realism, but I’ve also come to realize there’s value to recognizing stories well-written, even if they aren’t going to be my favorites. These are very well done, keeping my attention with astute observations and small cross-threads while pursuing a deeper emotional vein beneath the everyday foibles evident in most families.
FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.
Many of the stories deal with adult romantic relationships beyond the traditional boundaries of marriage. Several deal with mental illness and/or therapeutic relationships. A couple deal with children who experience things they shouldn’t have to handle. Some include more than one of these themes. Some are linked. Many include some element of humor, but the last one leaves us laughing.
I’ve said before I’m not a huge fan of domestic realism, but I’ve also come to realize there’s value to recognizing stories well-written, even if they aren’t going to be my favorites. These are very well done, keeping my attention with astute observations and small cross-threads while pursuing a deeper emotional vein beneath the everyday foibles evident in most families.
FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.
dreesreads's review against another edition
3.0
I love Amy Bloom's writing. I love her characters, and I love how she can make the background characters seem so real (which is even more true in [b:Away|217086|Away|Amy Bloom|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320514156s/217086.jpg|3286459].
I especially liked the two sets of stories: Three Stories, and Henry and Marie. But really, I enjoyed them all.
I especially liked the two sets of stories: Three Stories, and Henry and Marie. But really, I enjoyed them all.
ckporier's review against another edition
Collection of stories from the author of "Away" (Anne's recommendation)
likeaduck's review against another edition
2.0
Melodrama and boundary-crossing, presented quietly, like you might not notice it's boundary-crossing. It's a big spectrum of topics and presented without judgement except from the POV characters, and I enjoy the study in nonjudgmental empathy, but it's weird for me to have adorable happy poly triads and gender exploration presented without comment next to adults perving on children and stepmon/teen stepson sex, and for so many medical providers to be dating or setting up their patients in a book by a psychotherapist. Like, I guess I like the nonjudgmental empathy but I can totally see why this book seems to appeal most to people with terrible boundaries (cough cough Jenny Schecter).
On my book club's advice I skipped the first story, read the rest, then returned to read the first one last. It was a better book that way, probably.
On my book club's advice I skipped the first story, read the rest, then returned to read the first one last. It was a better book that way, probably.
tonitrap's review against another edition
4.0
My mother was never one to have magazines that didn't involve art laying around the house. On rare occasions, I'd find a dog-eared Good Housekeeping or some other similar type of thing that she likely swiped from a Doctor's office and put in her purse to copy a recipe. I swear that once upon a time (say 20 years ago!) I picked up one of these magazines from our bathroom, pages torn and warped from the spray of the shower, and read a beautifully haunting short story that has stuck in my brain ever since. The story, a meditation by a young woman about to get married, on the unusual relationship between her mother, father and her mother's lover, played out over one family summer holiday at a lake when the young woman happens upon a scene that she neither understands entirely nor ever forgets. I fell into this story, struck by how perfectly the author captured the voice of the narrator as she struggled to understand something she knew and felt on the periphery of adulthood but couldn't quite grasp with her child's mind. It also struck so any notes - sad, hopeful, heartbreaking, sexy. I just had never forgotten the story but also could not, for the life of me, remember who wrote it. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was the first story in Come to Me "Love is Not a Pie". I feel slightly idiotic as I have read quite a bit of Amy Bloom and never realized she was the author of the story that I never forgot over the span of two decades. Needless to say, I am happy to have it in my possession now, as well as, the rest of the stories in this collection. They are, for the most part, stunning. Each examines the actions that happen outside of the veneer of daily life - the things we may not want to own or admit - lusts and betrayals and crazies and utter and complete complications. But Bloom brings so much humanity and pathos and realness to the characters that it is difficult to put the stories down. They are beautiful stories despite their often not-so-beautiful subject matter.