Reviews

The Skeleton's Holiday by Leonora Carrington

naomisbookshelf's review

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dark lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

readymadereader's review

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

violetdelightshavevioletends's review

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fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No

3.25

xoel_sousa's review

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mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

frankensteinscreature's review

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4.25

Wonderfully morbid little stories

nishalovesbooks's review

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

khuizenga's review

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4.0

I knew nothing about Carrington’s personal writing style going in, and needless to say the first story knocked me over the head. These absurdist folktales are fascinating and jarring and funny and completely nonsensical in a familiar sensical way. It’s delightful finding the references to other kinds of story structures within, and also to just go along for the ride, because the story will never take you where you think it’s going. And although the writing is incredibly visual, Carrington blurs the lines with characters: is she a woman? A horse? Both at once? Are both these characters the same thing? Every time you think you are going to get a clear answer, she dodges, leaving you with beautifully weird scenes in your head with big black holes in them, the part you can’t quite comprehend. That is essentially what reading these stories feels like.

bleachykeen's review

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challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

missbookiverse's review

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5.0

This collection contains 7 of Carrington's surrealist short stories. I had never read surrealist literature before and while reading this collection my recurring thought was "OMG, WTF did I just read?" It's like Alice in Wonderland on mind-enhancing drugs: weird, colorful, often brutal, sometimes ridiculous, sometimes melancholy. Anything is possible and sometimes it's hard to follow (or find) the actual storyline. But it's still so much fun because it's so unique and reminded me of twisted fairy tales and I'm sure a lot more could be gained from some in-depth analyses.
My favorite story was The Debutante about a young woman and a hyena attempting to switch places. The only thing that bothered me was how in White Rabbits
Spoilerleprosy was used for shock value and the people suffering from this illness were depicted as creepy and insane.

amymay84's review

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dark funny mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5