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1.08k reviews for:
Krótka historia Stowarzyszenia Nieurodziwych Dziewuch i inne opowiadania
Helen Oyeyemi
3.76 AVERAGE
1.08k reviews for:
Krótka historia Stowarzyszenia Nieurodziwych Dziewuch i inne opowiadania
Helen Oyeyemi
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is such a weird, but totally necessary read. It's one of those books where you need to read a couple of times to get the full depth and significance of the stories, but I think that's a good thing because the reading is so disturbingly enjoyable. The whole time I was reading these short stories, all I could think was "whaaaat? I mean, whaaatt??" But I couldn't stop turning the page to figure out how each story pans out.
The structure of the stories is so unique. All of them start out with a single, clearly described moment or event or situation, and then Oyeyemi takes you and the characters on this crazy trip, and then you get to the end of the story, and you have no idea how you got there. You would have never guessed, just based on how the story begins, that it would lead you to this particular end. example: the first short story, "books and roses" - how does this story go from a baby being discovered in a church by monks, to this grown woman inheriting her mother's lover's brother's library in a house-turned-art-museum? That's how each story is like, and it's incredible to see the unpredictable path Oyeyemi takes you from start to finish. Let me tell you, at the end of the each story, I had to physically put the book down and just digest the story for a bit. That's how intense and dense each tiny story is. You have to take the time and mull it over, or at least figure out the rollercoaster of a story that you just got off of, with its twists and turns. She effortlessly takes you through time and space and perspective, sometimes spanning years or months, or seconds within a single sentence or phrase. It's insane.
As a side note, I am also a really big fan of the subtle interweaving of the stories, with recurring characters and the shared motif of keys. I could go on and on about the content of the stories themselves, but the I'll just say that there's something almost reminiscent of James Joyce's writing (Dubliners, anyone?) in the sense that it shows you a snapshot of the character's lives, just a moment of time in this person's life, with no significant beginning or concrete ending. There aren't really conclusions to the stories, just...endings. But within that span, the author really makes you care about the characters, whether that's by adding a flashback, or a brief explanation of the situation, whatever it is, she's mastered the art of pulling you into a character's narrative and caring/wanting to know how it works out in only a few pages. Genius.
Okay, back to the writing: the writing is incredibly detailed and very unique. It's chilling, sincere, and melancholy, with surprising sparks of sass and sarcasm--and truths that are just so real and relatable it's funny and weird to see them expressed on paper. There have been many times in the book when a character comments something, or the narration states something, and I'm like, "wow, other people have thought that too?" It's refreshing and comforting to hear those little snippets. Anyway, the writing is really hard to describe; the majority of the stories are told in a haunting and "tell around a campfire" tone, and then you have a few quirky one-liners or side remarks that seem uncharacteristic to the writing. But though they stick out so much, you have to accept them as normal because the writing just keeps going on, ignoring the little blip in the narrative. some examples: the comment about Matyas Füst's ability to sing Twinkle Twinkle little star, insert more here when you read it a second time around... I'm sure I'm not explaining it right, but seriously, you'll know what I mean if you read it, the writing's just the best. I came out of this book really wishing I had a gift for writing the way Helen Oyeyemi does. Very jealous.
Another thing I really enjoyed in this collection, and something I found refreshing (and made me realized how little other books do this) was the diversity in characters. Diversity in race, sexuality, class -- so much variety. The names of the characters were so unique : Montserrat, Chedorlaomer, Dornička, just to name a few. You don't have any of those Sarah's or Michael's as character names, no no no. There's also lot of gay couples, and what I liked about that was that it was treated as normal, as regular as everything else - Oyeyemi didn't make anyone's sexuality a big deal but rather just another fact about that person, nothing unusual or out of the ordinary, and I liked the handling of that. If you're looking for a book in diversity, this is a good one to pick up because you really get a variety of perspectives and protagonists.
Anyway, enough gushing. This book is great. It's an intelligent and thought-provoking read. It's fantastical and cool, and will definitely leave you hungry for more of her unusual writing style.
The structure of the stories is so unique. All of them start out with a single, clearly described moment or event or situation, and then Oyeyemi takes you and the characters on this crazy trip, and then you get to the end of the story, and you have no idea how you got there. You would have never guessed, just based on how the story begins, that it would lead you to this particular end.
As a side note, I am also a really big fan of the subtle interweaving of the stories, with recurring characters and the shared motif of keys. I could go on and on about the content of the stories themselves, but the I'll just say that there's something almost reminiscent of James Joyce's writing (Dubliners, anyone?) in the sense that it shows you a snapshot of the character's lives, just a moment of time in this person's life, with no significant beginning or concrete ending. There aren't really conclusions to the stories, just...endings. But within that span, the author really makes you care about the characters, whether that's by adding a flashback, or a brief explanation of the situation, whatever it is, she's mastered the art of pulling you into a character's narrative and caring/wanting to know how it works out in only a few pages. Genius.
Okay, back to the writing: the writing is incredibly detailed and very unique. It's chilling, sincere, and melancholy, with surprising sparks of sass and sarcasm--and truths that are just so real and relatable it's funny and weird to see them expressed on paper. There have been many times in the book when a character comments something, or the narration states something, and I'm like, "wow, other people have thought that too?" It's refreshing and comforting to hear those little snippets. Anyway, the writing is really hard to describe; the majority of the stories are told in a haunting and "tell around a campfire" tone, and then you have a few quirky one-liners or side remarks that seem uncharacteristic to the writing. But though they stick out so much, you have to accept them as normal because the writing just keeps going on, ignoring the little blip in the narrative.
Another thing I really enjoyed in this collection, and something I found refreshing (and made me realized how little other books do this) was the diversity in characters. Diversity in race, sexuality, class -- so much variety. The names of the characters were so unique : Montserrat, Chedorlaomer, Dornička, just to name a few. You don't have any of those Sarah's or Michael's as character names, no no no. There's also lot of gay couples, and what I liked about that was that it was treated as normal, as regular as everything else - Oyeyemi didn't make anyone's sexuality a big deal but rather just another fact about that person, nothing unusual or out of the ordinary, and I liked the handling of that. If you're looking for a book in diversity, this is a good one to pick up because you really get a variety of perspectives and protagonists.
Anyway, enough gushing. This book is great. It's an intelligent and thought-provoking read. It's fantastical and cool, and will definitely leave you hungry for more of her unusual writing style.
A mixed bag. My favourite stories were definitely "books and roses" and "a brief history of the homely wench society".
Review: https://weneedhunny.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/what-is-not-yours-is-not-yours/
Review: https://weneedhunny.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/what-is-not-yours-is-not-yours/
3.5 stars. I love Oyeyemi's style! Such an unique writer. Some of the stories weren't my cup of tea (as it goes with short stories collections) but What is Not Yours Is Not Yours is consistent all the way through.
I could only comprehend about half of these stories - some of them were a little tough to crack. But the ones that were good were REALLY good. #magicalrealism
What is stronger than five stars? This book has the distinction of being the first book since Howl's Moving Castle that I immediately started re-reading the moment I finished it, and the FIRST audiobook I've ever done that with. SO MANY LAYERS, like a dozen mysteries that aren't mysteries but still beg to be solved. Just so much MUCHNESS.
Read this so I could have a better grasp on shory stories but Im not sure it did. There were only two or three that I reallY enjoyed. But most of time it felt kind of unclear and I wasnt sure not exactly where we were going but rather how we were trying to get there. I wonder if she was playing with magical realism becauase it felt a lot like it. Good writing just wish it was clearer.
Trois étoiles peut paraître dur, pourtant j'ai beaucoup aimé cette collection ! Et je suis une grande fan de l'auteure. En revanche, dès l'ouvrage terminé peu d'histoires me restaient en tête et cela a impacter ma note j'imagine. Je le recommande néanmoins !