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savaging's review against another edition
4.0
What I like about Joy Williams is that she doesn't trust cleverness. Most stories center around someone who's going a little bit slower than everyone else, who can't quite figure out the right thing to say, who gets eclipsed by the witty shiny ones. And because they are slow and dull they're closer to something real that nobody else notices.
That's where the animals come in, too. Williams is a creaturely writer, a writer of beasts who behave like beasts and aren't symbols for anything else.
No story ever really wraps up, and often I sat wondering what I was really "getting" out of this, but I had such a good time with these blunderers and dimwits and varmints.
That's where the animals come in, too. Williams is a creaturely writer, a writer of beasts who behave like beasts and aren't symbols for anything else.
No story ever really wraps up, and often I sat wondering what I was really "getting" out of this, but I had such a good time with these blunderers and dimwits and varmints.
leserdtke's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
middlefrolic's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ameliasbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Interesting writing, but the stories are surreal.
giuli11_'s review against another edition
3.0
Good until the new stories came up.
A collection of shorts stories about girls and women; in all the things in between.
A collection of shorts stories about girls and women; in all the things in between.
spacebee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jamesdanielhorn's review against another edition
4.0
Here we have a 4 star collection of a 5 star writer. There is an excellent review on here by a Fionnuala that talks all about the dogs that feature prominently in most of the stories in this book, so go search out and read that. It’s an important theme in this book, but she did a better job than I will, so I’m not going to mention it beyond this. What I WOULD like to talk about is how there are MANY 5 star stories in here and how this could have been a greatest hits collection but it’s a little bloated with some less memorable ones, and also how I hated the titular story and how choosing it for this collection and the title of this book chapped my ass enough to knock a star off this collection.
First I just want to say, that the great stories here are REALLY great. Like, pantheon of literary genius short story writers great. People say Carver and Flannery O’Conner a lot and I absolutely agree. There is a lot in these stories but she only says a little. Incredibly complex emotions are somehow distilled into twenty-ish pages of dialog and near-plotlessness. It’s fascinating, and we should all celebrate Joy Williams as the genius she is while she is alive and still knocking out books.
I wish I had the time to talk in detail about all the ones I loved, but I just don’t have the patience to go on and on. Some real highlights culled from her previously published books for me were “Taking Care”, ”Yard Boy”, “Health”, “Rot”, “Escapes”, “The Last Generation”, “Winter Chemistry”, “Congress”, “Marabou”, and “Fortune”, just off the top of my head. These are unquestionably excellent short stories. The kind of stories that keep you thinking about them and make you want to write. Unfortunately though, some of the others were just not quite as strong for me.
As for the new material here, they are about as equally mixed. The style is more distilled and the focus is heavier on damaged characters, particularly alcoholics. “Brass”, “The Mission”, “Souvenir”, and the books final story and my favorite of the collection “Craving”, all felt immediately classic. “Craving” in particular was one of the best depictions of the madness surrounding being an alcoholic I’ve ever read captured on the page. But again some of the others were not quite as striking and I’d be hard pressed to remember them in a month. That is not to say they are not good, the prose is always masterful and maybe they’ll make more of an impression on you.
My biggest qualm though, was the choice of titular story. A story that was not particularly poignant and in my opinion had some frustrating fat-phobic content. This particular story contained a set of similar looking plus-sized women who were only referred to as “fat twins” over and over it even proposed nicknames for them “Dim and Dee” (also negative) but then abandons this only to continue to just refer to them as fat. The characters were also particularly unlikeable. It just bothers the hell out of me when the only fat characters in books are these negative stereotypes that are defined only by their size. Its not the most egregious depiction I’ve read, but It’s lazy and harmful nonetheless. Now look I’m going to say no one can ever write about negative fat characters or something so extreme. I’m fully aware too that when writing characters, they may have biases and opinions I don’t agree with, but this didn’t feel like that to me. In this case, I just wish there were some positive traits or another big endearing character to add some balance. On top of this they chose this as the centerpiece story, giving it even more credence. This easily could have been replaced with the much better story “Claro” from Honored Guest, and been given this a different title. I would have just as likely read this collection had it been titled “Another Season” or “The Last Generation”
Ultimately, I still feel Joy Williams is treasure and this collection proves it. I just thought it could have done a bit better. This book might have also been a little too much of a good thing, and some of the stories I felt less memorable may actually be excellent, but need another reading or some time away from writing this dense to be truly appreciated. I’d like to come back to these in time, because I did find the experience of reading these stories constantly thought provoking. So, honestly I would still recommend this, but maybe take it slower than I did.
First I just want to say, that the great stories here are REALLY great. Like, pantheon of literary genius short story writers great. People say Carver and Flannery O’Conner a lot and I absolutely agree. There is a lot in these stories but she only says a little. Incredibly complex emotions are somehow distilled into twenty-ish pages of dialog and near-plotlessness. It’s fascinating, and we should all celebrate Joy Williams as the genius she is while she is alive and still knocking out books.
I wish I had the time to talk in detail about all the ones I loved, but I just don’t have the patience to go on and on. Some real highlights culled from her previously published books for me were “Taking Care”, ”Yard Boy”, “Health”, “Rot”, “Escapes”, “The Last Generation”, “Winter Chemistry”, “Congress”, “Marabou”, and “Fortune”, just off the top of my head. These are unquestionably excellent short stories. The kind of stories that keep you thinking about them and make you want to write. Unfortunately though, some of the others were just not quite as strong for me.
As for the new material here, they are about as equally mixed. The style is more distilled and the focus is heavier on damaged characters, particularly alcoholics. “Brass”, “The Mission”, “Souvenir”, and the books final story and my favorite of the collection “Craving”, all felt immediately classic. “Craving” in particular was one of the best depictions of the madness surrounding being an alcoholic I’ve ever read captured on the page. But again some of the others were not quite as striking and I’d be hard pressed to remember them in a month. That is not to say they are not good, the prose is always masterful and maybe they’ll make more of an impression on you.
My biggest qualm though, was the choice of titular story. A story that was not particularly poignant and in my opinion had some frustrating fat-phobic content. This particular story contained a set of similar looking plus-sized women who were only referred to as “fat twins” over and over it even proposed nicknames for them “Dim and Dee” (also negative) but then abandons this only to continue to just refer to them as fat. The characters were also particularly unlikeable. It just bothers the hell out of me when the only fat characters in books are these negative stereotypes that are defined only by their size. Its not the most egregious depiction I’ve read, but It’s lazy and harmful nonetheless. Now look I’m going to say no one can ever write about negative fat characters or something so extreme. I’m fully aware too that when writing characters, they may have biases and opinions I don’t agree with, but this didn’t feel like that to me. In this case, I just wish there were some positive traits or another big endearing character to add some balance. On top of this they chose this as the centerpiece story, giving it even more credence. This easily could have been replaced with the much better story “Claro” from Honored Guest, and been given this a different title. I would have just as likely read this collection had it been titled “Another Season” or “The Last Generation”
Ultimately, I still feel Joy Williams is treasure and this collection proves it. I just thought it could have done a bit better. This book might have also been a little too much of a good thing, and some of the stories I felt less memorable may actually be excellent, but need another reading or some time away from writing this dense to be truly appreciated. I’d like to come back to these in time, because I did find the experience of reading these stories constantly thought provoking. So, honestly I would still recommend this, but maybe take it slower than I did.
rocketiza's review against another edition
1.0
Joy Williams is a phenomenal writer in a style I absolutely cannot stand. Most of what I made it through wasn't short stories, they were just moods. Every couple of paragraphs of writing to statements that are supposed to sound deep then resetting, characters sayings things that are supposed to be deep in a way no human being talks because its gotta get inserted somehow, mistaking brevity or leaving things unsaid or undone as depth, or confusing describing melancholy as having something to say.
scottnygaard's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing collection by my new favorite short story writer.