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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Read last 2 stories as an audiobook (good voice acting cast!!)
One or two years later at this point, I have finally finished this anthology with the longest and last stories. Now, it didn't take me this long because I disliked the stories or anything. It just often takes me a while to get through anthologies (frankly, this was one of the, like, two I have actually finished!).
I remember liking most of the stories (mostly magical realism), and these last two I have finally read made a strong finish to the anthology. I also remembered the title story quite a bit. It turned out to be a very fitting season for finishing this!
3.5/4☆
One or two years later at this point, I have finally finished this anthology with the longest and last stories. Now, it didn't take me this long because I disliked the stories or anything. It just often takes me a while to get through anthologies (frankly, this was one of the, like, two I have actually finished!).
I remember liking most of the stories (mostly magical realism), and these last two I have finally read made a strong finish to the anthology. I also remembered the title story quite a bit. It turned out to be a very fitting season for finishing this!
3.5/4☆
Excellent stories -- if it wasn't the beautiful writing that got me and the matter-of-fact melancholy of the stories, it was the fact that 11 presidents had been resurrected as horses in a field or a man was rooting for Team Krill against Team Whale in an Antarctic tailgate party. I will never look at the word cetaceous again without a giggle. While not every story was a five, the collection as a whole definitely is.
1 1/2 stars
The stories were below average, I think. The writing was interesting, in a “this is so weird and I understand nothing” kind of way. A few of the stories did give me a sense of unease that I would expect from a horror collection, but most of them were just odd. The last one was the creepiest to me—scarecrows freak me out so I suppose that makes sense. But mostly I was just bored reading this collection.
The stories were below average, I think. The writing was interesting, in a “this is so weird and I understand nothing” kind of way. A few of the stories did give me a sense of unease that I would expect from a horror collection, but most of them were just odd. The last one was the creepiest to me—scarecrows freak me out so I suppose that makes sense. But mostly I was just bored reading this collection.
I prefer my stories to have some kind of meaning or point. Just because these stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end does not mean they make any sense to me.
This collection of short stories was so well written I really lack words to describe it perfectly. It was never possible to just fly over the language as it was an essential part of the reading. The words on paper created a world that was a little more magical and fantastical than our own, but its characters were the more real for that. They had to overcome struggles and everyday problems and mostly all of them underwent some kind of transformation.
Needless to say I enjoyed some stories more than others and I'm sure I didn't get everything out of each I could have.
Nonetheless her writing will make me pick up more of her work and I am curious to find what her characters face in other stories.
Needless to say I enjoyed some stories more than others and I'm sure I didn't get everything out of each I could have.
Nonetheless her writing will make me pick up more of her work and I am curious to find what her characters face in other stories.
medium-paced
Really enjoyed the mix of stories and themes. Kept me hooked
Reeling for the Empire, Proving up, and the Barn at the end of the term were the only stories that I enjoyed. I feel neutral toward the title story and I disliked all the rest. If I could rip out those three and bind them up, it would be a five star, lol
Another thing (that’s entirely personal) is I highly prefer reading from female points of view, so that fact that these were mostly men and boys perspectives put me off a little.
Another thing (that’s entirely personal) is I highly prefer reading from female points of view, so that fact that these were mostly men and boys perspectives put me off a little.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
‘‘Twas a good book. i wish i read it for class so i could understand it more thematically. but every short story was vivid and unique but fit together in its own way
The writing is top notch, actually, but the stories are unevenly satisfying-- I don't generally need everything laid out for me when it comes to reading, but I do actually want a resolution of some kind; case in point, the seagull invasion story is a brilliant tale of a teen having a rough time trying to be The Responsible One when his mom falls apart; the seagulls play a weird, supernatural role in providing him bits and bobs of support, he gets up the nerve to do a thing for himself, and then the story ends. arrrgh. The bit about tailgating in the Antarctic was laugh-out-loud funny, though and the frontier tale was lovely and creepy. So, while I think this book wasn't necessarily for me on the whole, I want to read more by this author.
Could not get into this. The stories felt contrived and forced, and I wasn't moved or compelled by the writing. Not my cup of tea.