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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Hits and misses. I enjoyed "Vampires in the Lemon Grove," "Reeling for the Empire," and "Proving Up." These stories had the depth and powerful after-shudder of "Swamplandia!" I didn't hate the rest of the stories, but they didn't have the same weight as the better stories.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars
I had a little bit of a mixed relationship with this book. Some of the stories were so fantastically weird that I couldn't put it down, while others struggled to keep my attention. Overall, I liked the book and will probably read Russel's first collection, Swamplandia, because I admire anyone who can write something so well with such creative concepts that I have no idea how she came up with. I read some other reviews complaining about how many of the stories ended just trailing off, but I actually liked that. For me, short stories are snapshots of moments, not wrapped packages with bows tied on them for pretty endings.
I had a little bit of a mixed relationship with this book. Some of the stories were so fantastically weird that I couldn't put it down, while others struggled to keep my attention. Overall, I liked the book and will probably read Russel's first collection, Swamplandia, because I admire anyone who can write something so well with such creative concepts that I have no idea how she came up with. I read some other reviews complaining about how many of the stories ended just trailing off, but I actually liked that. For me, short stories are snapshots of moments, not wrapped packages with bows tied on them for pretty endings.
Cool collection of stories; varying quality, but overall a solid set.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Love how varied this short story collection was. There was a very interesting mix of themes, tones, and voices that kept me me engaged.
‘Reeling for the Empire,’ and ‘A Barn at the end of our Term,’ stood out as my favourites.
‘Reeling for the Empire,’ and ‘A Barn at the end of our Term,’ stood out as my favourites.
The title story was good, but otherwise I was not feeling this one.
This was a solid 4 stars until the final two stories, which bored me to death and lost this a full star. But man, the first few?! Flew through them. Especially loved Proving Up and Dougbert Shackleton's Rules for Arctic Tailgating. A unique and weird collection, I enjoyed it.
I thought the stories were very imaginative and well written. I thought this collection was much better than Swamplandia. I approached this book with some doubt as I just couldn't get into her previous short story collection St Lucy's Home for Girls, but was pleasantly surprised. I felt the writing was more mature and the stories compelling.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes