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miniatureghosts's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is most likely the weirdest book I’ve ever read and it was too much for me. I didn’t enjoy most of the short stories and I couldn’t catch the meaning behind most of them. It seems like this collection is just weird for weirds sake or for the sake of shock value. This isn’t inherently a bad thing but I think I need more of an obvious significance behind the weirdness to “justify” it. However, it’s possible that there was a meaning behind the gross events that just went over my head.
The stories themselves were well-written and definitely achieved their goal of being disgusting. They also linked together tonally and in terms of theme (queer gender identity, sexuality that deviates from social norms, strained interpersonal relationships etc.). It’s a coherent and cohesive collection.
Overall, I hated this but also think it’s a well-done short story collection. There’s definitely a niche audience that would love this.
Extra content warning: graphic bestiality
The stories themselves were well-written and definitely achieved their goal of being disgusting. They also linked together tonally and in terms of theme (queer gender identity, sexuality that deviates from social norms, strained interpersonal relationships etc.). It’s a coherent and cohesive collection.
Overall, I hated this but also think it’s a well-done short story collection. There’s definitely a niche audience that would love this.
Extra content warning: graphic bestiality
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Incest, and Excrement
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Sexual assault
cartermon4's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
cran's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
God I love my local library and their dedication to introducing me to the weirdest, most delightful shit. Milks' stories remind me what I love about surreal, strange, sexy fiction.
"The Strands" was especially affecting for me, hitting home in a way I didn't expect with the way it portrays the anxiety of transitioning as a lesbian, and I love the experimental storytelling styles in "Twins" and "Kill Marguerite". I really didn't expect to find a writer with whom my love of messy lesbian sexuality and twins/duality as a horror theme would overlap so completely.
The only thing keeping me from ranking it 5 stars is, as expected with anthologies, not every story was a winner for me (though I'm sure they will be for someone). That and the fact that I'm sure I could never read all the way through more than once. Maybe once I get my anxiety medicated.
"The Strands" was especially affecting for me, hitting home in a way I didn't expect with the way it portrays the anxiety of transitioning as a lesbian, and I love the experimental storytelling styles in "Twins" and "Kill Marguerite". I really didn't expect to find a writer with whom my love of messy lesbian sexuality and twins/duality as a horror theme would overlap so completely.
The only thing keeping me from ranking it 5 stars is, as expected with anthologies, not every story was a winner for me (though I'm sure they will be for someone). That and the fact that I'm sure I could never read all the way through more than once. Maybe once I get my anxiety medicated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism and Violence
Minor: Incest, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse
reading_rainbow_with_chris's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
“Slug and Other Stories” by Megan Milks
I read the first story in this collection, the eponymous “Slug,” and thought… “What the f*** did I get into?” By the end of the collection, I got it. Megan Milks collection of short stories is revolutionary queer writing, but it is not the nice tidy inspiring queerness we see upheld in pop culture. Milks has written a messy, gross, perverse collection that when taken together reminds us that queerness is not just about breaking the gender binary. Queerness is about eschewing convention, about uprooting patterns of communication which have become normative. Milks has written stories that are not just about queerness, but they present queer identities queerly and without any hesitation. Some of these stories I do not yet understand, and some of them were honestly too graphic for my personal taste but many of them were really incredible. Standouts for me include “The Strands,” “Kill Marguerite,” “Earl and Ed,” and “Patrick Gets Inspired.” I do not recommend this collection for everyone, but for those willing to approach queer themes and representations with an open mind this will be a thought-provoking collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Body horror, and Infidelity
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