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4.79 AVERAGE
4.79 AVERAGE
This was easily a five star read! I can't say that I've enjoyed a short story collection this much in a long time. I started to make a list of favorites, but honestly, I don't think that I can give a single story in this collection less than 4 stars. That is a rarity in collections, for me as a reader anyway. I live in North Carolina but Charleston is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. I'm happy that these stories were set there and describe the food and culture so vividly. It brought me back to Charleston!
This collection is a mix of magical realism, fantasy, and satire (realism). I absolutely loved the idea of a seaside house that grew crab legs and moved away from the sea during a hurricane. I loved the ghost stories and humor and sadness that many of these stories brought. It's like Eden Royce created her own southern mythology with these stories. I'm listing the ones that I gave 5 stars below but the rest were 4 stars:
"Every Good-Bye Ain't Gone"
"Sweetgrass Blood"
"Folk"
"The Stringer of Wiltsburg Farm"
"Room and Board Included, Demonolgy Extra"
"Hands Made for Weaving, with Nails Sharp as Claws"
"Miss Beulah's Braiding and Life Changing Salon"
"Don't You Weep"
"The Salt Cure"
"For Southern Girls when the Zodiac Signs Ain't Near Enough"
Even though my only child is an adult now, I might read some of her kid's books. I really hope that some time in the future Royce will write novels or novellas for adults, because I would read them all.
This collection is a mix of magical realism, fantasy, and satire (realism). I absolutely loved the idea of a seaside house that grew crab legs and moved away from the sea during a hurricane. I loved the ghost stories and humor and sadness that many of these stories brought. It's like Eden Royce created her own southern mythology with these stories. I'm listing the ones that I gave 5 stars below but the rest were 4 stars:
"Every Good-Bye Ain't Gone"
"Sweetgrass Blood"
"Folk"
"The Stringer of Wiltsburg Farm"
"Room and Board Included, Demonolgy Extra"
"Hands Made for Weaving, with Nails Sharp as Claws"
"Miss Beulah's Braiding and Life Changing Salon"
"Don't You Weep"
"The Salt Cure"
"For Southern Girls when the Zodiac Signs Ain't Near Enough"
Even though my only child is an adult now, I might read some of her kid's books. I really hope that some time in the future Royce will write novels or novellas for adults, because I would read them all.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolutely amazing. Every story had me hooked. Royce has done brilliantly in crafting stories and characters that hold their own hoodoo and strength, even if they don't know or understand how, using her Gullah background and the rich ancestral history that will forever keep giving. From the soil to the sea, with spirits, life, and death indelibly intertwined, these stories are captivating and moving.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder