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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Lydia Davis loves to make you read 40 page character studies... and by god I did!!!
3.5 rounded up
3.5 rounded up
Homage:
I'm finishing up three different books today. I started reading Fernando Pessoa's Collected Poetry two, maybe three months ago, but have only seven more poems to read. I started this short, odd, seventeenth century science fiction precursor novel by an English noblewoman just the other day but have rushed through it. And this collection of tales by Lydia Davis has been with me for a couple of weeks now. I liked all but the longest text, the one about longevity and its probably reasons. Probably because I've thought about such things before and dismissed these thoughts as useless.
I wish it were the other way around, that I'd begun all three of these books at the same time and thus finished them at grossly different times. For posting more than one review at a time on Goodreads just feels kind of gouache to me.
I'm finishing up three different books today. I started reading Fernando Pessoa's Collected Poetry two, maybe three months ago, but have only seven more poems to read. I started this short, odd, seventeenth century science fiction precursor novel by an English noblewoman just the other day but have rushed through it. And this collection of tales by Lydia Davis has been with me for a couple of weeks now. I liked all but the longest text, the one about longevity and its probably reasons. Probably because I've thought about such things before and dismissed these thoughts as useless.
I wish it were the other way around, that I'd begun all three of these books at the same time and thus finished them at grossly different times. For posting more than one review at a time on Goodreads just feels kind of gouache to me.
This took a bit to get into, but once you fully immerse yourself in Davis's style you will be incredibly captivated. I loved the pitter patter of her tiny stories like rain drops on an old roof. Some stories were only a few lines long, but there was so much truth captured in such a little snapshot. A few of the stories were a bit of a miss for me, but overall the collection really reimagines the idea of short story and was something new and exciting to be a part of.
I love the short story form and Varieties of disturbance is one of the most innovative short story collections I've come across. I appreciated the stories with a very dead-pan reportlike feel and the use of repetition. My favorite story was We Miss You: A Study of Get-well letters From a Class of Fourth-Graders. There were so many that just left me exhilarated. I loved being surprised by all the different angles and techniques. I think the book really suits my way of thinking, this kind of going all over the place randomness carried out in a very thoughtful manner. Sure not every story hits it target but I just enjoyed the process of her trying to get somewhere new. I've never read anything like it. Read this if you like intellectual giggles, randomness, lists, experimental fiction.
Really fantastic stories in here! The more anthropological ones were not to my particular taste, very long too, but there are so many good stories of different kinds in here and that in itself is really admirable
This was my first introduction to Davis, and I was entranced. She does post-modern short-short in a way that actually is innovative, not just "unique". The one or two line stories (more like poems, I suppose) were among my favorites, along with "Cape Cod Diary." The point, as I see it, has nothing to do with (lack of ) plot or character development, but with creating evocative renderings of moments, colors ("truths"). The language is clean and direct without being cold. Some of the longer stories, particularly "Helen and Vi," drag past the point of interest, but this collection is generally strong and refreshing.
Davis writes well outside of her usual short and funny style here, including a half-dozen or so longer pieces, some of which failed to really thrill me, honestly.
It's too bad because I grabbed a couple books I didn't know about at the library, then threw this one in because I knew I'd love it. Too bad it didn't turn out that way-- I mean, the stuff Davis has always done she still does luminously, and it's hard to fault her for trying something new. But I wasn't as wild about some of the experiments this time around as I had been in the past.
It's too bad because I grabbed a couple books I didn't know about at the library, then threw this one in because I knew I'd love it. Too bad it didn't turn out that way-- I mean, the stuff Davis has always done she still does luminously, and it's hard to fault her for trying something new. But I wasn't as wild about some of the experiments this time around as I had been in the past.
I skipped around in this book and read all the shorter stories. After finishing "Samuel Jackson is Indignant: Stories" also by her, I didn't have the patience to read this book cover to cover.
I'm having a hard time giving it three stars on the star meter.
I'm having a hard time giving it three stars on the star meter.
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Didn't finish, but read enough to know these stories are not for me. Though the stories are (too?) clever, and though I did chuckle in a couple of places, I found them boring for the most part.