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thomasindc's review
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
2.0
I haven’t ready many short story collections, so have no idea how to review or critique these. I felt like the collection was uneven. A few stories stood out as enjoyable, or at least graspable. Some were flatly gross and I didn’t really get them (the first two, in particular, which are also the most scatalogical).
There were plenty of times when I could detect satire, but knowing essentially nothing of the sociopolitical situation in Indonesia, the punch was lost on me.
There were plenty of times when I could detect satire, but knowing essentially nothing of the sociopolitical situation in Indonesia, the punch was lost on me.
hestu's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
laurafd's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ivaelo's review
4.0
Хората, които са харесали "Хубостта е рана" ще харесат и тази. Разказите са тъжни, забавни и моменти чудати. Азиатските автори не отстъпват на латиноамериканските по магически реализъм.
fvreads's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
renss's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
jackievr's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
naomidanae's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I never really connected with this book, and I can’t tell if it’s because it’s a translated work or if it’s because the stories themselves aren’t working for me. I can’t quite suss out the comparisons either. I think my issue is I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. While that ambiguity can work, it has to pay off. I don’t feel as though it paid off here.
There seems to me to be a lot of unnecessary violence against women that doesn’t actually seem to mean much. Like, spoilers, but a 14-year-old girl gets married off to disgusting husband who rapes her, but hey, she purposefully had sex before getting married and ripped her hymen so he gets angry when he sees that and divorces her??? Is that supposed to be feminist??? It’s published by Verso, so it’s meant to be left-wing, but as a woman who went through sexual abuse at a young age, this does NOT work for me. Maybe that’s how some young women deal with their trauma, but it doesn’t sit with me.
Some quotes:
“…history has taught us to endure all kinds of horror and evil and we are used to forgetting it all just as quickly as we forget every act of piety, because everyone ultimately dies in the end and all corpses ultimately give off a rotten stench.”
“Fundamentally there is nothing that is truly a secret between humans.”
“There are secret mixtures hidden in the kitchen—secret power lies in the hands of the women who grind spices and boil potatoes.”
There seems to me to be a lot of unnecessary violence against women that doesn’t actually seem to mean much. Like, spoilers, but a 14-year-old girl gets married off to disgusting husband who rapes her, but hey, she purposefully had sex before getting married and ripped her hymen so he gets angry when he sees that and divorces her??? Is that supposed to be feminist??? It’s published by Verso, so it’s meant to be left-wing, but as a woman who went through sexual abuse at a young age, this does NOT work for me. Maybe that’s how some young women deal with their trauma, but it doesn’t sit with me.
Some quotes:
“…history has taught us to endure all kinds of horror and evil and we are used to forgetting it all just as quickly as we forget every act of piety, because everyone ultimately dies in the end and all corpses ultimately give off a rotten stench.”
“Fundamentally there is nothing that is truly a secret between humans.”
“There are secret mixtures hidden in the kitchen—secret power lies in the hands of the women who grind spices and boil potatoes.”
clovetra's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
this book was truly unique. its wit combined with kurniawan's incredible storytelling and creativity is a match made in heaven. i will say as someone with a lack of knowledge about indonesia, reading this was confusing at times due to a lack of knowledge, but im not going to knock the book for my ignorance. this book was incredibly written, mixing sardonic stories about pissing with incredibly fucked up stories like the caronang, which i cant even describe without giving massive spoilers. as i do with other short stories, ill be giving my ratings. here we go.
graffiti in the toilet: depraved. what an insane way to start a book. a chapter about a toilet's graffiti. i loved the underlying political message, although ill be honest i didn't get it (i do not know much about indonesia's political history). overall was enjoyable. 3/5
don't piss here: what in the fawk. i started reading this and had a feeling piss was a major theme of this book and im thankful i was wrong. anyways um what the fuck was that ending. this was an enjoyable story but tbh compared to the rest of this novel it fell flat. 2/5
easing into a long sleep: this one was mid too. i found this one to be forgettable. like out of all the stories i had to go back and skim the book to remember my thoughts on this one. it kinda ate but kinda didn't interest me as well. 2/5
caronang: incredible amazing show stopping never done before. i loved this. its so insane and then the ending is so abrupt and batshit crazy. a masterpiece. 5/5
rotten stench: i really enjoyed this one too! i enjoyed the cycle of the town, it felt like to me this story and story number 6 are linked (they're not), which was nice. i liked the language used too. 4/5
no crazies in this town: enjoyable story, i didn't get the ending though. like i *got* it, but i didn't get the... motives? i guess is the best word for it. 3/5
auntie yet again also did not understand the ending. there's multiple interpretations for me but i feel like a definitive ending was created that im just too silly to get. oops. 3/5
pigpen meh. i mean #Relatable but also like. this one grossed me out & not in an enjoyable way honestly. i was just waiting for the next story. i don't even know why i just didn't vibe with it. 2/5
the otter amulet: insane. loved it. i think the stories with a looping nature were my favourite. this was incredibly poetic and i fucked with it soooo hard. ending came out of nowhere tho lol 4/5
dimples: i had fun with this! i liked the ending, i will admit i had no idea what was happening for half of this which says a lot when its like 7 pages. 3/5
the stone's story: it feels out of place in this anthology? like its such a goofy story. i mean i didn't hate it but i wasn't losing it over how good it was! 3/5
my lipstick is red, darling: i don't exactly know why but i liked this. i enjoyed the bittersweet ending & yet again the cyclical nature. sue me. 4/5
peter pan: sorry im a hater i got bored. why is she called the princess? why is bro obsessed with stealing books? mid. 1/5
making an elephant happy: the shortest story, being only 3 pages, yet it also ate soooo hard. so goofy so silly so enjoyable. ending is a bit lacklustre tho. 4/5
night watchman:i liked this! the atmosphere was incredibly strong and spooky, i liked how it was a smidge longer to build up the story more, and i liked the ending! it felt like it was missing something. 4/5
kitchen curse: ok this was my least favourite. it felt so out of place in this anthology. like it was accidentally plopped in. it kinda ruined the vibe for me. story itself was cute but it lowkey didn't belong. 1/5
overall, i enjoyed the short stories, but the endings were usually incredibly abrupt and random, with the themes not having long enough to be fleshed out due to the shortness of the stories. i know short stories are... short. but the longest story in this was 8 pages i think. i needed more. the stories that excelled shone so bright, but the ones that flopped did so hard.
overall i had a good time, but i did expect a bit more due to the rave reviews. i felt like especially due to the translation, i could not truly connect with characters due to the distanced writing style. also there was no time for character development (obv), so i didn't care too much about the cast of characters, as they all wizzed by so fast. oh well to each their own!
graffiti in the toilet: depraved. what an insane way to start a book. a chapter about a toilet's graffiti. i loved the underlying political message, although ill be honest i didn't get it (i do not know much about indonesia's political history). overall was enjoyable. 3/5
don't piss here: what in the fawk. i started reading this and had a feeling piss was a major theme of this book and im thankful i was wrong. anyways um what the fuck was that ending. this was an enjoyable story but tbh compared to the rest of this novel it fell flat. 2/5
easing into a long sleep: this one was mid too. i found this one to be forgettable. like out of all the stories i had to go back and skim the book to remember my thoughts on this one. it kinda ate but kinda didn't interest me as well. 2/5
caronang: incredible amazing show stopping never done before. i loved this. its so insane and then the ending is so abrupt and batshit crazy. a masterpiece. 5/5
rotten stench: i really enjoyed this one too! i enjoyed the cycle of the town, it felt like to me this story and story number 6 are linked (they're not), which was nice. i liked the language used too. 4/5
no crazies in this town: enjoyable story, i didn't get the ending though. like i *got* it, but i didn't get the... motives? i guess is the best word for it. 3/5
auntie yet again also did not understand the ending. there's multiple interpretations for me but i feel like a definitive ending was created that im just too silly to get. oops. 3/5
pigpen meh. i mean #Relatable but also like. this one grossed me out & not in an enjoyable way honestly. i was just waiting for the next story. i don't even know why i just didn't vibe with it. 2/5
the otter amulet: insane. loved it. i think the stories with a looping nature were my favourite. this was incredibly poetic and i fucked with it soooo hard. ending came out of nowhere tho lol 4/5
dimples: i had fun with this! i liked the ending, i will admit i had no idea what was happening for half of this which says a lot when its like 7 pages. 3/5
the stone's story: it feels out of place in this anthology? like its such a goofy story. i mean i didn't hate it but i wasn't losing it over how good it was! 3/5
my lipstick is red, darling: i don't exactly know why but i liked this. i enjoyed the bittersweet ending & yet again the cyclical nature. sue me. 4/5
peter pan: sorry im a hater i got bored. why is she called the princess? why is bro obsessed with stealing books? mid. 1/5
making an elephant happy: the shortest story, being only 3 pages, yet it also ate soooo hard. so goofy so silly so enjoyable. ending is a bit lacklustre tho. 4/5
night watchman:i liked this! the atmosphere was incredibly strong and spooky, i liked how it was a smidge longer to build up the story more, and i liked the ending! it felt like it was missing something. 4/5
kitchen curse: ok this was my least favourite. it felt so out of place in this anthology. like it was accidentally plopped in. it kinda ruined the vibe for me. story itself was cute but it lowkey didn't belong. 1/5
overall, i enjoyed the short stories, but the endings were usually incredibly abrupt and random, with the themes not having long enough to be fleshed out due to the shortness of the stories. i know short stories are... short. but the longest story in this was 8 pages i think. i needed more. the stories that excelled shone so bright, but the ones that flopped did so hard.
overall i had a good time, but i did expect a bit more due to the rave reviews. i felt like especially due to the translation, i could not truly connect with characters due to the distanced writing style. also there was no time for character development (obv), so i didn't care too much about the cast of characters, as they all wizzed by so fast. oh well to each their own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Child death, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship