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linguaphile412's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Violence, Gore, Infidelity, Car accident, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
pollyflorence's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Torture, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Toxic relationship
kkulhannie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Medical content, and Torture
samdalefox's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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
4.75
I adored this short story collection. I have previously read Ogawa's 'The Memory Police' and I'm delighted that I enjoyed her short stoies just as much. Her writing style remains easy to read, engaging, vivid, ordinary yet disturbing. Her work is the best example of magical realism and speculative fiction that I've come across. It's captivating to read.
This was sooooo close to being 5 stars. I'm still torn over it. If StoryGraph hadn't implemented the 0.25 increments this would definitely by rated as 5 stars. The reason I didn't score it full marks, was I think the last two stories 'Tomatoes and the full moon' and 'poison plants' let the collection down a little bit. The connected, convoluted, unreliable story within a story technique was exhausted and a little confusing in these last two stories. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed spotting the connections and imagery between the stories. I think it's rare for short story collections to feel cohesive, and 'Revenge' certainly does that as it layers stories and characters on top of each other like pages of surreal translucent OHP acetate.
List of the stories in the 'Revenge' collection:
This was sooooo close to being 5 stars. I'm still torn over it. If StoryGraph hadn't implemented the 0.25 increments this would definitely by rated as 5 stars. The reason I didn't score it full marks, was I think the last two stories 'Tomatoes and the full moon' and 'poison plants' let the collection down a little bit. The connected, convoluted, unreliable story within a story technique was exhausted and a little confusing in these last two stories. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed spotting the connections and imagery between the stories. I think it's rare for short story collections to feel cohesive, and 'Revenge' certainly does that as it layers stories and characters on top of each other like pages of surreal translucent OHP acetate.
List of the stories in the 'Revenge' collection:
- Afternoon at the Bakery (5)
- Fruit Juice (5)
- Old Mrs J (5)
- The Little Dustman (5)
- Lab Coats (5)
- Sewing for the Heart (5)
- Welcome to the Museum of Torture (5)
- The Man Who Sold Braces (5)
- The Last Hour of the Bengal Tiger (4.5)
- Tomatoes and the Full Moon (4.5)
- Poison Plants (4.5)
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Animal death
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