Scan barcode
cjhcjh's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favourite short-story writers. Such a pleasure to spend some weird time with!
pammoore's review against another edition
3.0
I had high hopes for this one, as When The Messenger is Hot is one of my favorite books, but it just didn't do it for me. There were a few stories that stood out as awesome, like the Star Babies one and the apocalyptic Brooklyn one. And Crane's voice is still funny, quirky, and sharply observant. This one just didn't speak to me the way most of her other work has.
starryeved's review against another edition
2.0
This is a book of lists. That is not to say it is not good—no, in fact, its repetitive nature and its amplification of the mundane, the intricacies of human existence, are what make Turf stand out among short stories.
Like many contemporary writers now, Crane focuses on the minutia of life and what makes us tick, and when she cuts, shredding at our idiosyncrasies with a knife, she cuts deep and sharp and it hurts to the quick. Her writing is simple and plain and satiric in a blow.
Maybe it was good, but it made me drift off when I got to Turf, the central story. So I don't know what that says.
Like many contemporary writers now, Crane focuses on the minutia of life and what makes us tick, and when she cuts, shredding at our idiosyncrasies with a knife, she cuts deep and sharp and it hurts to the quick. Her writing is simple and plain and satiric in a blow.
Maybe it was good, but it made me drift off when I got to Turf, the central story. So I don't know what that says.
vnha_r's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
3.5
Crane pushes the limits of the form of the short story; I’ve never quite read anything like this before and I thoroughly enjoyed several of the pieces and her experimental storytelling, although some of the stories were more stylistic than substantive in their content.
emmadevere's review
2.0
I really enjoyed Today in Post-Apocalyptic Problems, Star Babies, and Mr and Mrs P are Married. The rest of the stories were more style than substance.
More...