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anatomydetective's review against another edition
3.0
I had such varied feelings about the stories in this collection that I had to break it down and rate them individually. Overall average rating: 3.28 - despite a few truly good stories, the duds dragged down my rating.
On the Grounds of the Complex Commemorating the Nazis' Treatment of the Jews: 2 stars. I'm not even sure why this story was put in the collection, except it lends to the pervasive theme of violent Israelis that ties together this little collection. A rocky start to an otherwise fairly strong collection.
Will Power, Inc.: 4.5 stars. One of my favorites in this collection. Entertains the concept of a company who hires out body guards to keep their clients from overeating. I think even more could have been done with this idea, though.
The End of Larry's Wallet: 4 stars. An odd tale that juxtaposes the dissolution of a man's life with nuclear conflict. Slightly silly meta-narrative.
The Interview: 5 stars. A hilarious take on the traditional interview. I laughed aloud.
The Task of This Translator: 3.5 stars. The titular story really was not the strongest, but it was pretty amusing.
Raider Nation: 2.5 stars. A strange acquaintance between a socially awkward grad student and "thug" type ends oddly. I was not particularly entertained.
How Keith's Dad Died: 1.5 stars. This collection started and ended on pretty bad notes for me. I was really enjoying it in the middle and then it started to go downhill again. It definitely hit rock bottom in this overly wordy and ultimately boring story. The first and last stories in this collection could easily be skipped.
On the Grounds of the Complex Commemorating the Nazis' Treatment of the Jews: 2 stars. I'm not even sure why this story was put in the collection, except it lends to the pervasive theme of violent Israelis that ties together this little collection. A rocky start to an otherwise fairly strong collection.
Will Power, Inc.: 4.5 stars. One of my favorites in this collection. Entertains the concept of a company who hires out body guards to keep their clients from overeating. I think even more could have been done with this idea, though.
The End of Larry's Wallet: 4 stars. An odd tale that juxtaposes the dissolution of a man's life with nuclear conflict. Slightly silly meta-narrative.
The Interview: 5 stars. A hilarious take on the traditional interview. I laughed aloud.
The Task of This Translator: 3.5 stars. The titular story really was not the strongest, but it was pretty amusing.
Raider Nation: 2.5 stars. A strange acquaintance between a socially awkward grad student and "thug" type ends oddly. I was not particularly entertained.
How Keith's Dad Died: 1.5 stars. This collection started and ended on pretty bad notes for me. I was really enjoying it in the middle and then it started to go downhill again. It definitely hit rock bottom in this overly wordy and ultimately boring story. The first and last stories in this collection could easily be skipped.
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