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abby_campbell's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
yohanna97's review
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
laurierreads's review against another edition
The anthology is quite bleak and depressing!
jennkei's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but was pleasantly-surprised by this! Kate Folk has a sense of the horrific, at times, that is uncanny. Only subtracted a little as some of the stories end rather abruptly.
There were some stories I really liked. The Bone Ward, Out There (which had the companion story Big Sur), Moist House, were all really memorable.
There were some stories I really liked. The Bone Ward, Out There (which had the companion story Big Sur), Moist House, were all really memorable.
charizard_era's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lit_laugh_luv's review against another edition
2.0
Unpopular opinion warning: Sorry folks, I nearly gave this one star - I really didn't care for this collection in the slightest. The stories felt generally banal and formulaic - while I don't expect every short story to convey some grandiose meaning or symbolism, with "weird" literature I think the reader will have a natural curiosity towards understanding why the author wrote what they did. A lot of these stories don't really lend themselves to any sort of speculation - several are so short that they feel truncated as soon as they get rolling. There's certainly a few standouts (A Scale Model of Gull Point, Boneless, & Big Sur are all very solid entries) but otherwise it just seems like a collection of surrealist ideas haphazardly assembled.
The narrative voice here is cloyingly sterile and repetitive so that every story feels like they blur into each other in a way beyond cohesion and fully into redundancy. Despite how weird and promising the ideas behind these stories are, they end up feeling largely forgettable. The stories which do comment on broader social narratives (particularly relating to womanhood) feel too on-the-nose and without much depth. Several others just seem like concepts that were weird and quirky so just got slotted in (let's grow a head out of the floor and see if it makes an impression on readers).
I much preferred [b:Bliss Montage|60243188|Bliss Montage|Ling Ma|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650397247l/60243188._SX50_.jpg|94997656] and [b:Salt Slow|42870948|Salt Slow|Julia Armfield|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544789992l/42870948._SY75_.jpg|66660375] which are similarly speculative but executed much better. Kate Folk definitely shows promise in the longer, more fleshed out narratives - so I would consider picking up a full length novel from her, but her short stories just aren't for me.
The narrative voice here is cloyingly sterile and repetitive so that every story feels like they blur into each other in a way beyond cohesion and fully into redundancy. Despite how weird and promising the ideas behind these stories are, they end up feeling largely forgettable. The stories which do comment on broader social narratives (particularly relating to womanhood) feel too on-the-nose and without much depth. Several others just seem like concepts that were weird and quirky so just got slotted in (let's grow a head out of the floor and see if it makes an impression on readers).
I much preferred [b:Bliss Montage|60243188|Bliss Montage|Ling Ma|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650397247l/60243188._SX50_.jpg|94997656] and [b:Salt Slow|42870948|Salt Slow|Julia Armfield|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544789992l/42870948._SY75_.jpg|66660375] which are similarly speculative but executed much better. Kate Folk definitely shows promise in the longer, more fleshed out narratives - so I would consider picking up a full length novel from her, but her short stories just aren't for me.
joliendewaard's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0