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brittany_thereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
ncalv05's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75
amyfinley829's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t generally like books that’s are a compilation of stories. (Yet, here I am with two completed already in 2021). This was a good read. There was quite a bit of variety in the writing of the different authors. Anthony Doerr’s short story stood out to me the most. Lots of interesting perspectives about inequality. Worth the time.
madisonhp's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
spiderfelt's review against another edition
3.0
This was an uneven collection. Listening an audio, I couldn’t tell who the author was for each story. I wonder if that would have changed my enjoyment of the book. Individually, there were some fantastic stories, and there were clues in the stories that allowed me to guess a few of the authors. Rebecca Solnit’s piece opening the collection was excellent. If I had checked out the print collection, I probably would have skipped around a bit.
barnstormingbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book I picked up pre-pandemic. I'm not exactly sure what drew me to this book, probably the list of contributors (Patchett, Solnit, Gay, Doerr, Biss, Engel, Diaz, Egan, etc.).
This book struggles from a lack of focus and structure. While most of the individual selections are solid and some are exceptional, the piece as a whole is somewhat chaotic. If you are old enough to remember We Are the World (1985 or 2010)... this is kind of like that. If you are too young to know what I'm talking about... google that shit. The idea and purpose are solid, but the styles just don't always flow together (is that autotune... wait Josh Groben and then Snoop and LL Cool J??).
The premise is too broad - Inequality in America - which leads to a lopsided representation of the theme. The lack of direction and broad theme lead to a few questionable instances of white saviorism or just oddness. Further as the theme is not narrowed by form the random feeling movements between creative nonfiction to journalism to poetry to fiction to experimental to graphic storytelling lacks a common thread between pieces to make sense of the overall project.
There are amazing essays, stories, and poems mixed in, but how the collection is put together lets them down. I'm guessing Freeman spent less time crafting a list of authors based on their past writing and more on where their work falls on the NYTimes Best Seller Lists or how often they are shortlisted for prizes.
This book struggles from a lack of focus and structure. While most of the individual selections are solid and some are exceptional, the piece as a whole is somewhat chaotic. If you are old enough to remember We Are the World (1985 or 2010)... this is kind of like that. If you are too young to know what I'm talking about... google that shit. The idea and purpose are solid, but the styles just don't always flow together (is that autotune... wait Josh Groben and then Snoop and LL Cool J??).
The premise is too broad - Inequality in America - which leads to a lopsided representation of the theme. The lack of direction and broad theme lead to a few questionable instances of white saviorism or just oddness. Further as the theme is not narrowed by form the random feeling movements between creative nonfiction to journalism to poetry to fiction to experimental to graphic storytelling lacks a common thread between pieces to make sense of the overall project.
There are amazing essays, stories, and poems mixed in, but how the collection is put together lets them down. I'm guessing Freeman spent less time crafting a list of authors based on their past writing and more on where their work falls on the NYTimes Best Seller Lists or how often they are shortlisted for prizes.
neolx's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.0
This was a challenging but important read, and not what I was expecting. I feel this is largely inaccessible to most readers, as the short fiction and poems are literary and opaque. The nonfiction pieces are brief (apart from Karen Russell's, which was one of my favorite entries) and more to the point. That being said, I was impressed and moved by most of the entries in some way, particularly, the entries by Anthony Doerr, Edwidge Danticat, Claire Vaye Watkins, Hector Tobar, Nami Mun, Rebecca Solnit, Julia Alvarez, Kiese Laymon, RS Deeren, Patricia Engel, and Richard Russo. Some of the entries felt less effective or unrealistic, even self-indulgent, and I questioned why they were included in this anthology, particularly the entries by Joyce Carol Oates, Eula Biss, and Roxane Gay. Apart from the educational and emotional impact of this collection, it also allowed me to sample many writers I have been meaning to read, as well as many I had never heard of (I've already bought books by several of the writers after starting this).