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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Everything story in this short story collection is beautifully written, unique and interesting to read. I was well captivated.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
emotional
sad
Some of these stories were so familiar, I felt like I could reach out and touch them. So real.
Overall, the collection was varied, interesting and covered a range of topics and life experiences. When it came to representing a child's point of view, the book was nuanced and encapsulated feelings like the growing pains of coming-of-age, jealousy, and rejection accurately.
A collection of mostly realistic stories set in Nigeria, where it seems the rural village life is mostly supplanted by urban living, but not entirely. Nearly all of the stories, maybe all, are centered around kids, somewhere between 7 and 12, and I'm not usually a big fan of stories about kids; I don't find innocence all that interesting. But these stories rarely leave the kids alone-- most of them are about I guess you'd call it generational strife, conflicts between young people and the adults in their lives, which turns out about as well as you'd expect. There's some arbitrary displays of power, which definitely jives with the way I think about childhood.
The best stories are at the end of the book-- "The Girl Who Lied" and "Milk and Oil" deal a little more than the others with how kids respond to each other, and that had some spark. "Burning," the last story here, does lean a little into the suffering of innocence, but in the context of parental mental illness, which was striking and terrifying.
A decent collection, just not totally my thing.
The best stories are at the end of the book-- "The Girl Who Lied" and "Milk and Oil" deal a little more than the others with how kids respond to each other, and that had some spark. "Burning," the last story here, does lean a little into the suffering of innocence, but in the context of parental mental illness, which was striking and terrifying.
A decent collection, just not totally my thing.
Thank you to Uche Okonkwo, Tin House, and Netgalley for the digital ARC copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This book will/should publish April 16, 2024.
This collection of stories was unlike anything I have ever read. I was engrossed from the very first story. These stories each so unique in themselves and collectively to the different manifestations of madness. I loved the characters and cultural emersion with each story. So different yet relatable and easy to follow. The way in which each story had a different family relationship highlighted and the struggles within that relationship and pull. To question what we wouldn't do for our relationships and just how close we all are to 'madness'. It seemed to me, these stories were hovering on the edge of horror and had me eagerly turning the next page.
The writing was beautiful and there were some beautiful quotes. There were some odd capitalizations and formatting errors that were a bit distracting but didn't take away from the stories. I will keep an eye out for further works from this author.
This collection of stories was unlike anything I have ever read. I was engrossed from the very first story. These stories each so unique in themselves and collectively to the different manifestations of madness. I loved the characters and cultural emersion with each story. So different yet relatable and easy to follow. The way in which each story had a different family relationship highlighted and the struggles within that relationship and pull. To question what we wouldn't do for our relationships and just how close we all are to 'madness'. It seemed to me, these stories were hovering on the edge of horror and had me eagerly turning the next page.
The writing was beautiful and there were some beautiful quotes. There were some odd capitalizations and formatting errors that were a bit distracting but didn't take away from the stories. I will keep an eye out for further works from this author.