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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
these stories are stuffed somewhere between bleak and devastating and disturbing, yet are consistently captivating. loss - or a general lack-of from genesis - is a visitor for us all, and humans respond so uniquely. my only complaint is that these are indeed, short stores. as soon as you’re in, your out. i retrieved this book at random from an antique mall, with no research into Adam Haslett, aside from acknowledging based on the cover that being his writing debut, it is riddled with awards and nominations. i look forward to reading something full length of his.
If you are going to read one book of short stories this year, let this be the one. Poignant, haunting, well written. Themes of insanity, inheritability, and the effects on family.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd like to see what Haslett can do with the space and time of a novel. His stories were intriguing and, at times, deeply melancholy.
Haslett is certainly a master of the short story form, resisting the urge to give the reader too much resolution. He offers glimpses into moments of lives, and with it, glimpses into the human condition. Suicide and homosexuality (in an era where its despised and shame-laden) are themes, and portrayed both darkly and with the mundane eye of those who live with these experiences as just part of the texture of their mundane daily reality.
Minus a star because the stories all felt so, so male in a way that I haven't felt since Hemingway. Not that there's no place for male authors, just that it made the stories feel like they should all be set in the 1950s, so it was startling when 90s references came up.
Minus a star because the stories all felt so, so male in a way that I haven't felt since Hemingway. Not that there's no place for male authors, just that it made the stories feel like they should all be set in the 1950s, so it was startling when 90s references came up.
Notes to My Biographer: 5
The Good Doctor: 3
The Beginnings of Grief: 4.5
Devotion: 3
War's End: 4
Reunion: 3
Divination: 3.5
My Father's Business: 3
The Volunteer: 3
Some of these stories were kind of slow and just okay, but even then there were times when they just smacked you with a lot of emotion.
The Good Doctor: 3
The Beginnings of Grief: 4.5
Devotion: 3
War's End: 4
Reunion: 3
Divination: 3.5
My Father's Business: 3
The Volunteer: 3
Some of these stories were kind of slow and just okay, but even then there were times when they just smacked you with a lot of emotion.
3.5 stars. Like a lot of short story collections, the quality of the stories trailed off as I got closer to the end. Or perhaps I was lulled into indifference by the consistent tone of each story. Nevertheless, the author's command of the form is clear, especially in the first 1/3 of the collection.
This is a haunting book of short stories with a common thread of mental or emotional trauma. To date this is my favorite collection of short stories. Well written, with realistic situations and fleshed-out, sympathetic characters.
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes