Scan barcode
thaliasoul's review against another edition
4.0
Here comes my lousy attempt to review a selection of short stories...: Not only has this book been my first contact with Michel Faber and his writing but I am also still new to the short story genre. All in all I was surprised by the depth and ruthlessness some of the stories had to offer since the writing style in general was very easy to read, fast-paced and easing you into a fake sense of comfort. Some of the stories, such as the first one - 'The Safehouse' made no real sense to me and left me with tons of questions. Actually, when I think about it, in a way all of the stories were rather unsatisfactory, starting at a seemingly random points in time and ending abruptly without bothering to resolve anything really. But it seems to me that that was actually the beauty of the stories - witnessing random situations, being allowed to observe for a while but not too long.
My personal favourites were 'The Eyes of the Soul' (A tale about modern loneliness), 'Serious Swimmers' (A painfully beautiful account of an ex-addict mother desperatly trying to connect with her son), 'Tabitha Warren' (A witty and thougth-provoking comment on the role and importance of 'true' and/or commercial literature) and finally 'Vanilla-bright like Eminem', which made me cry just because it describes how happiness is but a fleeting moment, imposing itself on you when you least expect it.
My personal favourites were 'The Eyes of the Soul' (A tale about modern loneliness), 'Serious Swimmers' (A painfully beautiful account of an ex-addict mother desperatly trying to connect with her son), 'Tabitha Warren' (A witty and thougth-provoking comment on the role and importance of 'true' and/or commercial literature) and finally 'Vanilla-bright like Eminem', which made me cry just because it describes how happiness is but a fleeting moment, imposing itself on you when you least expect it.
amberinbookland's review against another edition
4.0
The Safehouse - 4.5
Andy Comes Back - 3.7
The eyes of the soul - 3
Serious Swimmers - 4
Explaining Coconuts - 1 (I get it, it's just not my thing)
Finesse - 4.5
Flesh Remains Flesh - 3.5
Less than Perfect - 3.5
A Hole with Two Ends - 2
The Smallness of the Action - 4.2
All Black - 3
Mouse - 2.5
Someone to Kiss it Better - 3.2
Beyond Pain - 3
Tabitha Warren - 2.7
Vanilla-bright like Eminem - 4
The Fahrenheit Twins - 3
Andy Comes Back - 3.7
The eyes of the soul - 3
Serious Swimmers - 4
Explaining Coconuts - 1 (I get it, it's just not my thing)
Finesse - 4.5
Flesh Remains Flesh - 3.5
Less than Perfect - 3.5
A Hole with Two Ends - 2
The Smallness of the Action - 4.2
All Black - 3
Mouse - 2.5
Someone to Kiss it Better - 3.2
Beyond Pain - 3
Tabitha Warren - 2.7
Vanilla-bright like Eminem - 4
The Fahrenheit Twins - 3
More...