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jamiereadthis's review
4.0
This is one of my favorite books of short stories this year. I don’t even have to look to see what short stories I’m comparing it to. It doesn’t matter. This is up there.
Maybe it’s my own fault, my own lack of exposure, maybe they’re out there and I haven’t found them yet, but I can find plenty of stories set in Tennessee, in Kentucky, in Georgia, in Alabama. I’ve got books titled “Arkansas.” I’ve got short stories named “Mississippi.” But the ones in my own specific place, in western Carolina, are few and far between. I almost don’t mind it. They’re all the more precious that way.
This one, I can see reading again and again. Each story is short, it ends with a punch, and I love getting punched by stories. I love it when I want to sit there and absorb the blow for a minute, but also scramble right up into the next one.
Maybe it’s my own fault, my own lack of exposure, maybe they’re out there and I haven’t found them yet, but I can find plenty of stories set in Tennessee, in Kentucky, in Georgia, in Alabama. I’ve got books titled “Arkansas.” I’ve got short stories named “Mississippi.” But the ones in my own specific place, in western Carolina, are few and far between. I almost don’t mind it. They’re all the more precious that way.
This one, I can see reading again and again. Each story is short, it ends with a punch, and I love getting punched by stories. I love it when I want to sit there and absorb the blow for a minute, but also scramble right up into the next one.
hilaritas's review
3.0
Parts of this short story collection are dense confections, loaded with complex, often gruffly beautiful prose, unsparing portraits of mountain life, and short, intense stories that develop maximum punch from brief vignettes. However, other parts read like the early drafts of MFA work, and contain some real groaners of plot, character, and diction. I believe White is a skillful writer, but my belief that his talent had sufficiently matured wavered throughout this brief volume. The rating I give this book is merely an average, as there are some stellar pieces within, and some that made my eyes roll skyward. I look forward to reading some of his other works to see if he tosses off some of the weaknesses that irked me here. Despite the unevenness, there are some really beautiful stories here and this book is well worth a read by fans of Appalachia, Americana, and short fiction unafraid of flirting with the line between artful and overwritten.
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