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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
If you are looking for a collection of short stories for a book club read - this is it. Many thought-provoking stories. The kind of book you want to read and pass along to your best friend just so you have someone to talk with about it.
funny
medium-paced
good, struggled a bit to get through some stories. didn't quite blow me away like Tenth of December
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Just what you'd expect from Saunders - a collection of humorous and weird short stories.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the more successful short story collections I’ve tried. Mostly concerned with morality as a social construct, most of the people are interesting because they serve as a lens to regard how society has enabled them to be bad people, or actively stymie their ability to be, and do “good”. It makes some of the stories merely interesting as a meta, because I didn’t actually care what happened to a lot of these people, such as the circle of pain in a workplace feud between, primarily, two women. Actually, the ones I remember the most are from people in workplace environments doing messed up stuff.
They work, though, because of the conversation they start as functions in larger systems. It’s humorous in ways that work, unexpectedly. It’s coherent enough that I can see why they’ve been grouped as such. And the writing quality is good. I can’t say it really blew me away, but it certainly exceeded my expectations as a person who generally doesn’t get along with short stories.
They work, though, because of the conversation they start as functions in larger systems. It’s humorous in ways that work, unexpectedly. It’s coherent enough that I can see why they’ve been grouped as such. And the writing quality is good. I can’t say it really blew me away, but it certainly exceeded my expectations as a person who generally doesn’t get along with short stories.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An uncontroversial statement I hope but there are stronger stories in here and weaker ones.
This collection in particular feels indebted to Beckett - I felt some strong ties to him in particular with the title story. That sense of unending despair in the face of absurdity, and characters trapped inside of their own minds (either of their own making, or seemingly the making of the world they inhabit).
I think I enjoy Saunders’s work the most when, under all of the heady conceptual stuff, there’s heart and soul at the root of it. It’s one of the reasons I liked Lincoln in the Bardo so much. Same reason I enjoyed (the story) so much. Not all of his stories quite hit me in the same way, but those in this collection that do are some of his best for me. Elliott Spencer in particular is magnificent - probably my favourite of his, full stop.
This collection in particular feels indebted to Beckett - I felt some strong ties to him in particular with the title story. That sense of unending despair in the face of absurdity, and characters trapped inside of their own minds (either of their own making, or seemingly the making of the world they inhabit).
I think I enjoy Saunders’s work the most when, under all of the heady conceptual stuff, there’s heart and soul at the root of it. It’s one of the reasons I liked Lincoln in the Bardo so much. Same reason I enjoyed