125 reviews for:

Smart Ovens for Lonely People

Elizabeth Tan

4.02 AVERAGE

mareenotmarie's review against another edition

4.0

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Fav stories were:
Night of the fish
A girl sitting on a unicorn...
Smart ovens for lonely people
Mounting sexual tension...
Ron Swanston's Stencilled 'Stache
Washing Day
This is not a treehouse
Shirt dresses...
Lola Metronome...
You put the u in utopia...

emmypetersen's review against another edition

5.0

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I LOVED THIS BOOK. Omg, if I could give extra stars I would. This book is crazy, bonkers, weird and I loved it. I’ve already gone back and reread some of the stories! My all time favourite was “Shirt dresses that look a little too much like shirts so that it looks like you forgot to put on pants (Love will save the day)” - firstly, how’s that for a title? Secondly this story made my mum and I laugh out loud. This whole collection of stories is like nothing I’ve ever read before, it’s so unique!
I will admit, it took me a moment to get into it and understand it, only until the third story “A girl is sitting on a unicorn in the middle of a shopping centre” which just has the most incredible imagery - and imagery that is so uniquely Australian. The author fills the paragraphs with these intense descriptions that make you feel like you’re right in the middle of a busy, noisy Australian shopping centre and then snaps you back to this quiet profound occurrence in the centre that it feels like nobody is seeing but you, and the world goes quiet while you observe.
Highly highly recommend.

_book_e's review

3.75

emotional funny inspiring reflective

jaclyncrupi's review against another edition

5.0

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An incredibly clever, weird and wonderful collection from Elizabeth Tan who is fast becoming one of my favourite young Australian writers. She tackles the absurdities of late capitalism with razor sharp insights and truly inventive writing – the kind of writing that gets you excited about the possibilities of writing. If you missed her debut novel-in-stories Rubik, this collection would be an excellent way to see Tan’s experimental and piercing talent. I loved all of these stories but the titular story is one of my absolute favourites.

gillianhagenus's review against another edition

5.0

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There is almost too much to say in praise of this book. One could be forgiven for thinking that Elizabeth Tan invented the short story form, she is that much a master of it. Every story does something fresh with the form that I haven't encountered the likes of before. Tan throws the rule book of narrative out the window and it is a beautiful rebellion. Tan's mind is a quirky and baffling landscape full of talking ovens and cats and B52 references. The collection is set in some undefined near future, a magical real, surreal foray that asks you to just run with it, run with all of it and let it soak you up and dissect you and prod at your marrow to get at what's hidden there, hidden even from yourself. Each of these stories, as the title merely slightly suggests, communicates some form of profound loneliness that hits you right in your centre of gravity and yet somehow the word 'uplifting' would not be out of place here. I will never not be thinking about the stories in this book. I am, quite simply, in awe.

divulged_in_worlds18's review

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

eklbooks's review

5.0

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

claudiamcpot's review against another edition

4.5

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

cranberrythehatchet's review

5.0

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One of my favourite short story collections of all time.

blairmahoney's review against another edition

4.0

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Quirky stories; really didn't like a few of them but most resonated.