Reviews

Between Here and the Yellow Sea by Nic Pizzolatto

merismisa's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There is something undoubtedly male and american about these stories. It's in the language that is being used. The air of americanness was delightful, but the male-centric gaze less so.

tobin_elliott's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 While I liked what I read here, most of these are simply not stories, but more drop-ins to observe a portion of a life. If you're looking for endings, look elsewhere, none of these stories offer them.

They do, however showcase Pizzolatto's far ranging knowledge of truly esoteric things. My suggestion would be to not do as I did, and take one story at a time, then move to something else, then come back for the next, and so on. 

joshualenzo_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

neven's review against another edition

3.0

A solid collection, though it's quite obviously a first book.

bashbashbashbash's review against another edition

4.0

I really liked these:

Between Here and the Yellow Sea
The Guild of Thieves, Lost Women, and Sunrise Palms

I quite liked:

Nepal (opening paragraphs reminiscent in the best way of Denis Johnson)
1987, The Races (I wish this had ended differently – with the father winning small and getting sort of manic just as he's confronting the son over the abandonment. I thought that would make it perfect. But it isn't my story, is it. Otherwise, the penultimate confrontation between them is perfect, really good.)

Some of the others are finding their voice. There's a repetition of certain themes (idealized women in particular) that work brilliantly in some stories but not as well in others, especially as some of the narrators are more interesting than others, although most share certain demographic features (straight, white, mostly working class men).

Overall enjoyed it. I thought Nepal was a nice break in tone from the others, a good closing novella.

francesmthompson's review against another edition

4.0

Moody, raw and touching, this collection of short stories is the work of Nic Pizzolatto, the sole writer behind the TV masterpiece True Detective. While all of the stories take place in the southern states of the US, and many deal with modern and real traumas - war veterans, teenage angst, racism and families that are falling apart - there is something provocative and touching in each tale, neatly brought to life by Pizzolatto's fine command of language and creating moments the reader will relate to and remember.

My favourite stories were Two Shores and Haunted Earth.

jessplayin's review against another edition

3.0

All of the stories feel like near misses for me. There are a couple that are impactful but the characters felt very 2 dimensional and the stories do not seem like they will stick with me years from now.

maheswaranm's review against another edition

3.0

" Eventually you've got to understand that an answer isn't the same thing as a solution, and a story is sometimes only an excuse. "

An interesting short story.

Read it here.


Probably closer to a 4 star. But maybe not worth it.


And in case you're wondering how I came to read it.
The chain goes like

Oscars -> Mathew McConnaughey -> True Detective -> Nic Pizzolatto