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egoubet's review against another edition
5.0
Don't let the children's book cover fool you. This is NOT a children's book. When my mom gave it to me for Christmas, I thought "well this is odd, why would my mom get me a collection of children's stories? I mean ok, cool, her friend wrote it, but really?"
Then I set down to read it, my first book of 2016 . . . it took less than one page for me to realize that things were not as they seemed. Maybe the publishers were trying to be ironic? Maybe they missed the point and thought the whole book was really about Giraffes flying?
Whatever was going through their heads, do not be fooled. This is a book for adults. For adults with strong stomachs. It is dark and twisted at times. And I couldn't put it down.
Then I set down to read it, my first book of 2016 . . . it took less than one page for me to realize that things were not as they seemed. Maybe the publishers were trying to be ironic? Maybe they missed the point and thought the whole book was really about Giraffes flying?
Whatever was going through their heads, do not be fooled. This is a book for adults. For adults with strong stomachs. It is dark and twisted at times. And I couldn't put it down.
masonlou8's review against another edition
2.0
*thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion*
I love short stories and I like weird stuff but this was truly bizarre. A lot of them I couldn't see what point the author was trying to make. There were some that featured animal abuse and made me feel very uncomfortable. I was going to rate this 1 stars but the last 3 stories made me bump it up to a 2 stars.
I love short stories and I like weird stuff but this was truly bizarre. A lot of them I couldn't see what point the author was trying to make. There were some that featured animal abuse and made me feel very uncomfortable. I was going to rate this 1 stars but the last 3 stories made me bump it up to a 2 stars.
christiemackie's review
1.0
A couple of fun short stories (namely the title story and the one about the postman, the name of which escapes me - in short, these stories were respectively about flying giraffes that swooped down and stole people, never to be seen again, and a postman who hoards junk mail to stop his recipients having to deal with it) but the rest were mundane, misogynistic and utterly forgettable.
I was so disappointed as this had been sold to me as magical realism - perhaps this was my own fault, maybe I interpreted the blurb in the wrong way - but it was anything but. There were a few stories that could be considered magical realism, such as the flying giraffes, but for the most part this collection focussed on the struggles of poor little white men with cookie cutter personalities. I could not get over the misogyny of these characters, and I'm still not sure whether it was supposed to be satirical but the recurrence of quips about women's weight, and wanting to "fuck her until she's unconscious", lead me to believe that it was just a case of poor judgement on Weddle's part. One particular line that I am still reeling over? "It's all I can do to not simply attack her, rape her." One lovely protagonist on his pregnant wife, everyone.
Another issue I had with this collection was the fact that so many of the stories established virtually no sense of setting. It felt like I had just been dropped in the middle of a situation and had to figure out what was happening, and while this can work very well in some books, the brevity of the stories and the total blandness of the characters meant that it was nigh on impossible to establish what the story was actually about and where one's sympathies should lie.
I'm so disappointed that this is the first book I've reviewed for NetGalley because I don't like giving bad reviews, especially when it's to be viewed by the publisher, but I'd rather be honest than fawn over the few minor things I liked about this book in an attempt to be "nice". Sorry, but this left a really sour taste in my mouth.
I was so disappointed as this had been sold to me as magical realism - perhaps this was my own fault, maybe I interpreted the blurb in the wrong way - but it was anything but. There were a few stories that could be considered magical realism, such as the flying giraffes, but for the most part this collection focussed on the struggles of poor little white men with cookie cutter personalities. I could not get over the misogyny of these characters, and I'm still not sure whether it was supposed to be satirical but the recurrence of quips about women's weight, and wanting to "fuck her until she's unconscious", lead me to believe that it was just a case of poor judgement on Weddle's part. One particular line that I am still reeling over? "It's all I can do to not simply attack her, rape her." One lovely protagonist on his pregnant wife, everyone.
Another issue I had with this collection was the fact that so many of the stories established virtually no sense of setting. It felt like I had just been dropped in the middle of a situation and had to figure out what was happening, and while this can work very well in some books, the brevity of the stories and the total blandness of the characters meant that it was nigh on impossible to establish what the story was actually about and where one's sympathies should lie.
I'm so disappointed that this is the first book I've reviewed for NetGalley because I don't like giving bad reviews, especially when it's to be viewed by the publisher, but I'd rather be honest than fawn over the few minor things I liked about this book in an attempt to be "nice". Sorry, but this left a really sour taste in my mouth.
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