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tarrowood's review
5.0
Not your typical set of short stories, but almost daunting in the way it surreptitiously presents Alaska as this all-consuming monster. Nobody may die in these stories outright, but no one gets out alive — death looms in every sense
deegee431's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
This book and its stories provided me with more knowledge of the issues in Alaska and the people that deal with them. It was eye opening.
sharksread's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
hannahlizg's review
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved this book's focus on setting and Alaskan women. It's a diverse group of women despite them all being (I assume) white women, but as far as background, age, class, and sexuality go. What made this book interesting was that it kept coming back to its setting at the core, the harshness of the wild, the frontier of Alaska. The wild is simultaneously a place we go to lose ourselves and to find ourselves, to run away from our problems and to face them. The prose is smart and the use of language is brilliant.
hlake52's review
2.0
This book wasn’t for me. I expected the stories to be tough being set in Alaska, but they were all also bleak. Yes, the women in the stories survived but at what cost? I’d prefer some redemption in the story which maybe isn’t reality, but it did not make it an enjoyable read for me.
briandice's review
5.0
Every story in this collection is perfection. Highly recommended for my short fiction fan friends.
californiakim's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
abitters's review
3.0
This book dives into the human need to be accepted. Many of the memorable characters of this collection of stories are fleeing to Alaska to get away from one thing or another. Alaska is another name for hope for these people, but often they don’t not find the answers they are looking for. Loneliness and victimhood pop up through the stories creating a bleak thread from beginning to end. Marriage and relationships are also themes that abound in these stories. The writing creates a cold, stark atmosphere that hangs over the collection. Strong literary writing here, but it just never completely drew me in. For me, and this is completely subjective, it was often boring. However, don’t not read this because of my opinion. I was trying to read outside my typical genre and purview. I just never became hooked.