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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
The first two stories held my interest, but it was a tougher slog after that. I quit before the final story.
I was really disappointed by this collection, mostly because it had some really great potential, that just fell flat. The majority ofthe stories were well written, unique, quirky and engaging. The concepts explored were creative and fresh, and gloriously bizarre, but all of the stories, with the exception of 'Reeling for the Empire' (the most well written and executed of the collection IMO, just trailed off, without any kind of a satisfactory ending.
I liked this collection, but I didn't really love it. Russel's prose and ideas are phenomenal, but I often felt like the endings weren't satisfying or the stories went on a little long. The second half was stronger than the first. I really enjoyed "Reeling for the Empire", "The Barn at the End of Our Term", and "The New Veterans" was striking in its imagery and ideas.
Liked it enough to check out more of Karen Russel's work (likely St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves) in the future.
Liked it enough to check out more of Karen Russel's work (likely St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves) in the future.
I love her words. Every story is so beautifully layered and well written you become immersed in them. A couple of them were über creepy, though. And stuck with me in ways I could have lived without. I liked it so well I'm reading another by her.
I don't usually read shirt stories, mostly because I don't have the attention span the second I get into it it's over :/. But they were pretty good some were better than others. If I read through out of order the experience may have been better.
Didn’t realize this was a short story collection until three stories in lmfao but phenomenal short fiction writing! Horror, humor, surrealism… lots of brilliance going on here
maybe 4.5
maybe 4.5
I loved the first two stories, great magical realism, but then the stories kind of stalled for me, as if the needed more "oomph" to them. Nonetheless, I read it all (and I don't like short stories) .
Some stories were better than others. The second to last one was a particular favorite of mine.
This review probably really isn't very fair, because I'm clear that I don't like short stories, never have. Still, her other book Swamplandia! seemed a little out there to me, and I thought I'd start with shorter stories, in case it just wasn't my thing. I liked some of the stories, most notably the title story. Still, I have to say that I have no idea what actually happened in most of these stories (something that is common for me in short stories).
A strong anthology, packed with stories that ranged from outright horror to weird to ???. The author was new to me and she rocks the short story format with some very inventive ideas. I didn't feel that any of these stories were filler (like so many anthologies contain).