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spillminttea's review against another edition
5.0
I love this premise! About how someone really has intention to clean up their own memories. We filled it together! Clara, Gui, Beatrice, Parents, Childhood, even partner! My tears are going down
littlemissinkdrinker's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this - loved loved loved it. Such an interesting clash of worlds and complicated mess of emotions. I'm not sure I like that Gui was consumed by grief in the end moment, but I think it might be to balance out the duel emotions Clara and Beatrice experienced through the story.
shirin_mandi's review against another edition
3.0
[b:The Prince and the Troll|55817016|The Prince and the Troll (Faraway Collection)|Rainbow Rowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604005084l/55817016._SX50_.jpg|87027563] 5 ⭐
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3864499724?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
[b:Hazel and Gray|55817030|Hazel and Gray (Faraway Collection)|Nic Stone|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604005427l/55817030._SY75_.jpg|87027574] 3.5 ⭐
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3988026168?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
[b:The Wickeds|55817049|The Wickeds (Faraway Collection)|Gayle Forman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604005901l/55817049._SX50_.jpg|87027587] 4 ⭐
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4769340973
[b:The Princess Game|55817039|The Princess Game (Faraway Collection)|Soman Chainani|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604005605l/55817039._SX50_.jpg|87027579] 4.5 ⭐
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4769339408?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
miametro's review against another edition
4.0
I'd have happily read a full novel based in this universe
sudo's review against another edition
3.0
More than the other installments in the Faraway collection this one is full of sadness and loneliness. The idea of physical items carrying all of our memories is unique and interesting. Also interesting is the ability of some to “clean” those items, ridding of all memories, making them feel new to those who touch them. A clever story, just really lonely.
pantsreads's review against another edition
4.0
Super magical and unique new fairy tale about memories and how to deal with what's left after an event—be it good or bad or totally mundane.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
whats6's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the idea and unique moral of this fairy tale. But there were too many characters to fit into a short story. Maybe if we only followed and learned about one sister it would have been better for me.
jessibellepip's review against another edition
5.0
This is such a cool idea for a story and such a cool telling of it. I honestly felt both heartwarmed but also left with this sad, nostalgic feeling in the end. It's a bittersweet twist on Princess and the Pea, and honestly love it a lot. I look forward to reading more of Liu's work in the future.
dannip23's review against another edition
2.0
I kept zoning out during portions of this, rewinding to discover what I'd missed, then discovered I hadn't actually missed anything but was still a bit lost. Not my favorite of this collection.
suzy_g's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, full disclosure: I read the entire 'Faraway' series simply because I'm a completionist, and I wanted to read this submission from one of my favourite short-story authors, Ken Liu. Truth be told, I have minimal interest in fairytale retellings having read very few good ones in my time. Turns out this was fairly lucky, as this was more of a 'Ken Liu' story than a 'retelling' anyway.
What I love most about Ken Liu's writing is his ability to dream up incredible, thought-provoking and original concepts that genuinely blow my mind. This one wasn't one of his best and it wasn't as unique as I'm used to seeing from him - but it was still intriguing enough to warrant development, leading to the outcome of a fairly solid, if a little underwhelming, short story.
In this story, memories are transferred from people to objects in a way that echoes virus transmission, i.e.: via touch and proximity. Almost everyone has some degree of sensitivity to the memories imbued in objects, meaning that if you want to forget - truly forget - someone/a time in your life, you would have to purge everything that they ever touched/anything that could remind you of that period. One way is to destroy such objects. Another way is to clean them.
Due to the distressing nature of memories you'd go to such lengths to rid yourself of, this is when most people seek out the services of a professional cleaner - such as Gui. Gui is an anomaly, in that he cannot feel the residue of any memories. He therefore isn't haunted by these, and can live a life free of all the damning consequences of such a 'gift'; but, of course, he also misses out on the benefits it can bring, too.
There is hardly a plot to speak of in this one (although I wouldn't say that that's entirely unheard of in Liu's writing); it is almost entirely concept and character driven. It discusses how material our emotional attachments can be, and how sometimes it is best to accept the life we are left with - bad memories and all. It suggests our innate ability to learn and grow from such life experiences and raises the question of whether it is really the right decision to rid ourselves of them, even if we can (think: 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind').
Overall this story felt more confined than I expected. Liu has always stretched the limits of a short story to the absolute max, giving me the experience of having read an entire novel in the space of 20-or-so pages. But in this case I simply got a short story, rather than a marvel.
When considering this story in the context of Liu's other works, I'd say I'm a bit disappointed. But when considering it in the context of the 'Faraway' collection, it is easily one of the better stories on offer.
What I love most about Ken Liu's writing is his ability to dream up incredible, thought-provoking and original concepts that genuinely blow my mind. This one wasn't one of his best and it wasn't as unique as I'm used to seeing from him - but it was still intriguing enough to warrant development, leading to the outcome of a fairly solid, if a little underwhelming, short story.
In this story, memories are transferred from people to objects in a way that echoes virus transmission, i.e.: via touch and proximity. Almost everyone has some degree of sensitivity to the memories imbued in objects, meaning that if you want to forget - truly forget - someone/a time in your life, you would have to purge everything that they ever touched/anything that could remind you of that period. One way is to destroy such objects. Another way is to clean them.
Due to the distressing nature of memories you'd go to such lengths to rid yourself of, this is when most people seek out the services of a professional cleaner - such as Gui. Gui is an anomaly, in that he cannot feel the residue of any memories. He therefore isn't haunted by these, and can live a life free of all the damning consequences of such a 'gift'; but, of course, he also misses out on the benefits it can bring, too.
There is hardly a plot to speak of in this one (although I wouldn't say that that's entirely unheard of in Liu's writing); it is almost entirely concept and character driven. It discusses how material our emotional attachments can be, and how sometimes it is best to accept the life we are left with - bad memories and all. It suggests our innate ability to learn and grow from such life experiences and raises the question of whether it is really the right decision to rid ourselves of them, even if we can (think: 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind').
Overall this story felt more confined than I expected. Liu has always stretched the limits of a short story to the absolute max, giving me the experience of having read an entire novel in the space of 20-or-so pages. But in this case I simply got a short story, rather than a marvel.
When considering this story in the context of Liu's other works, I'd say I'm a bit disappointed. But when considering it in the context of the 'Faraway' collection, it is easily one of the better stories on offer.