Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Strange stories that slot against each other uniquely. Favorite was the presidential horses for bizarreness, and most haunting was proving up and reeling for the empire. The others were just strange. I enjoyed a short story before bed each night.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really hoping this book would be just like North American Lake monsters by Nathan Ballingrud. and it does fit the bill on paper of a collection of short horror stories that have more to do with people than with monsters themselves but i could not get into it. The short story that named the book (vampires in the lemon grove) was good along with the silkworm girls; they worth the read but i cant speak for much else in this book.
The premise of each jewel of a story is so wonderfully imaginative and delightful that I 98% forgot to be frustrated when each tapered off into a non-ending. For me, all the magic makes up for it anyway.
karen russell does with words what the best of painters do with oils and acrylics and the best of musicians do with guitar strings and piano keys. her prose is a symphony of magic, humor, and poignancy. favorites in this collection are "the barn at the end of our term" and "the graveless doll of eric mutis." russell seems to particularly love writing about young teens and pre-teens, and it is perhaps because they are in that phase change of believing in everything to believing in nothing. i'm also fascinated by her preoccupation with mothers and pets. what do we care for? what cares for us? what does that say about our relationship to others? while i enjoyed every story, i wasn't quite sure what the tailgating in the antarctic story was doing alongside the rest of the stories, so, as enjoyable and funny as it was, it felt very out of place.
officially obsessed with karen russell and her signature surrealist creepfest writing style. favorite stories here were proving up, reeling for the empire, and the graveless doll of eric mutis.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
A series of regional gothics, this is a collection of short stories that all occupy the tense and wondrous genre of magical realism with a hint of horror
this is such an interesting collection of short stories. each tale is so unique and they each have something to say, yet despite being well written they all end so ambiguously that it becomes frustrating. each story has the... beginning of a conclusion i suppose. i think the ambiguous endings worked well in certain stories (such as my favorite, reeling for the empire) but in others it is just a complete disappointment.
medium-paced