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palpino's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
jarekko's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Saunders uses many trick, but in fact his prose empty of any real heft. This time, with the exception of the first story, it is also boring, repetitive and not very funny.
harding1sa's review
dark
reflective
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? Yes
3.5
stjernesvarme's review
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
marginwalker's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
I was worried that this was going to be the first Saunders book I’ve read that didn’t make me cry (I somehow cried during A Swim in the Pond in the Rain) but then that second to last story laid me out. That man sure does know how to chop onions with his words.
jatinnaru's review
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
meyshka's review
challenging
dark
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
raaaaaaaach's review
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
johnnyphonny's review
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Saunders is an astonishingly gifted short story writer, one who employs accessible genre tropes (especially sci-fi) to explore quite challenging concepts, often to pretty dark extremes. He’s also very funny, which makes the medicine go down. Some of these stories are really outstanding, but overall the collection is a fraction below the unreasonably high bar he set with TENTH OF DECEMBER.