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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
weird fic short stories and i have a very complicated relationship. this collection had moments that were deeply relatable to me on a personal level, but in a way that would make me hesitant to recommend this more broadly. i do think Ling Ma’s prose excels in short form. the aspects of severance that felt somewhat grating to me were a lot more palatable in these stories. there were lines in here that really snuck up on me and punched me in the gut, especially for the time i read this. i think this pushes the boundaries of abstraction for my personal taste, but it wouldn’t have been as effective any other way.
I am as unsure about how I feel about this book as Ma is on how to end a story.
i thought her writing was utterly gorgeous and i was invested/engaged in every single story. i wish any of them had a semblance of resolution, but i loved the book overall
Reminded me of why short stories are so good. Crystals that land on your tongue and melt :) no duds among the bunch, but my favorite has to be either Gravity (drugs that make you invisible! Surely this won’t be used for escapism) or Returning (that’s some powerful dirt you have there, not-Russia)
Written in a very matter of fact way, but that only showcased the ~weird~ elements and grounded everything so you could focus on the beautiful relationships and emotions.
Written in a very matter of fact way, but that only showcased the ~weird~ elements and grounded everything so you could focus on the beautiful relationships and emotions.
gripping collection of short stories - the line was blurred between fiction and reality to the point that i was questioning my sanity. I was befuddled in the best way when dots connected through different stories in seemingly different universes; all in all a perfectly gripping bus read
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I needed a lot of time after reaching each story before jumping into the others because I needed time to think about each story after. I was left with very different feelings are each one. The unified was thinking about the world each story lived in and trying to see what would happen next.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated