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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Lost track of how many times I read each story. There is so much to take in, and it probably takes me 3 listens before I get past the narrative enough to just appreciate the writing. My favorites: "Anchor" and "Dykes", the two longest shorts in the collection. I would not have the same appreciation if I didn’t read Bestiary first.
If you are looking to be transported by the books you read, this is a good one. It exists somewhere between realities, worlds and childhoods. So many of the protagonists (young queer girls, more or less) seemingly think and speak from the curious, confident (mis)understandings of grade school children—but what we might have seen and interrupted as “incorrect”, K-Ming Chang bestows with the “yes and” gifts of imagination and possibility. It is dreamlike in that sense. The opposite of the belittling energy with which we usually like to strip children of their joy and fascinations.
In the same vein, much like speaking to actual children, you can never predict where a sentence goes. The twist is inevitable but so deliciously unexpected and unscripted. The writing, entirely original. You cannot teach someone else to write like this by distilling individual elements of style. Chang wields poetry in her rhythm, tone, pronunciation, anticipation, grammar, choppiness and flow all at once, in addition to her creativity.
If you are looking to be transported by the books you read, this is a good one. It exists somewhere between realities, worlds and childhoods. So many of the protagonists (young queer girls, more or less) seemingly think and speak from the curious, confident (mis)understandings of grade school children—but what we might have seen and interrupted as “incorrect”, K-Ming Chang bestows with the “yes and” gifts of imagination and possibility. It is dreamlike in that sense. The opposite of the belittling energy with which we usually like to strip children of their joy and fascinations.
In the same vein, much like speaking to actual children, you can never predict where a sentence goes. The twist is inevitable but so deliciously unexpected and unscripted. The writing, entirely original. You cannot teach someone else to write like this by distilling individual elements of style. Chang wields poetry in her rhythm, tone, pronunciation, anticipation, grammar, choppiness and flow all at once, in addition to her creativity.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!
At turns captivating and cringe-worthy, Gods of Want is evocative and poetic. I found this title best read while barely lucid myself before bed, my own consciousness fading in and out with the narrator's winding stories -- disoriented and being pulled under, suddenly I'd snap to in a fit of queer recognition.
Chang's writing is effective and commanding in ways that feel both satisfying and gratuitous. I'm hot-and-cold with short stories generally, so I'm always hesitant to give an overall impression of a collection like this, but I will say that across the board she is a master at crafting imagery that seems to defy the senses and yet feel viscerally true.
At turns captivating and cringe-worthy, Gods of Want is evocative and poetic. I found this title best read while barely lucid myself before bed, my own consciousness fading in and out with the narrator's winding stories -- disoriented and being pulled under, suddenly I'd snap to in a fit of queer recognition.
Chang's writing is effective and commanding in ways that feel both satisfying and gratuitous. I'm hot-and-cold with short stories generally, so I'm always hesitant to give an overall impression of a collection like this, but I will say that across the board she is a master at crafting imagery that seems to defy the senses and yet feel viscerally true.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
brilliant work about hunger - any type of it really. the writing is fascinating and the short stories flow seamlessly
especially loved anchor, xifu, homophone and the whole Moths segment
Highlighted a lot of quotes but these ones are my favourites by far:
« To woo the moon, you first have to threaten to gouge it out of the sky. This can be done with chopsticks, a fork, tongs, anything with an end. When the moon begins to fold itself in fear, you reach your hand »
« This tea will make you holy, she said, while boiling pages of hymns in hot water, telling me to sip slow, to sing each word before I swallowed. Once, she offered to cut my hair, and the next morning she was in our kitchen stewing the strands into ink, telling me to drink, and when I took a sip, I could taste everything that had ever touched my head, rain, my aunt’s sweat, the sky, light. »
« I prayed for the moonlight to stroke the snake in the right place, to touch it the way Vivian touched my palm, just once but with the tenderness of pressing a beetle into green glitter with your thumb. »
especially loved anchor, xifu, homophone and the whole Moths segment
Highlighted a lot of quotes but these ones are my favourites by far:
« To woo the moon, you first have to threaten to gouge it out of the sky. This can be done with chopsticks, a fork, tongs, anything with an end. When the moon begins to fold itself in fear, you reach your hand »
« This tea will make you holy, she said, while boiling pages of hymns in hot water, telling me to sip slow, to sing each word before I swallowed. Once, she offered to cut my hair, and the next morning she was in our kitchen stewing the strands into ink, telling me to drink, and when I took a sip, I could taste everything that had ever touched my head, rain, my aunt’s sweat, the sky, light. »
« I prayed for the moonlight to stroke the snake in the right place, to touch it the way Vivian touched my palm, just once but with the tenderness of pressing a beetle into green glitter with your thumb. »
dark
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes