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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
One of the most beautiful, fascinating, original, and engrossing collections I've ever read.
My heart is not ready for this. Helen Oyeyemi is my idol.
***
I love how connected all these stories were, all the queer characters, and just how real a world she can spin.
***
I love how connected all these stories were, all the queer characters, and just how real a world she can spin.
"They expected their resident artist to lounge about in scarlet pajamas, drink cocktails for breakfast, and entertain dashing rascals and fragrant sirens."
"Blame it on growing pains, or on the ghost I shared my bedroom with."
"In her head she'd replied: Because I can't just keep getting married all the time, and also because I'm pissed off with you for making me sit through two of my own weddings and one of yours before it occurred to you that maybe we should have tried it together first."
"Honoring delicacy over full disclosure only comes back to haunt you in the end."
"City people only talk to people they're already acquainted with, so as to avoid strangers speaking to them with annoying overfamiliarity or in words that aren't immediately comprehensible. And everybody in the city is just so terribly bored. Show a city dweller wonders and they'll yawn, or take a photo and send it to somebody else with a message that says 'Wow.'"
"Blame it on growing pains, or on the ghost I shared my bedroom with."
"In her head she'd replied: Because I can't just keep getting married all the time, and also because I'm pissed off with you for making me sit through two of my own weddings and one of yours before it occurred to you that maybe we should have tried it together first."
"Honoring delicacy over full disclosure only comes back to haunt you in the end."
"City people only talk to people they're already acquainted with, so as to avoid strangers speaking to them with annoying overfamiliarity or in words that aren't immediately comprehensible. And everybody in the city is just so terribly bored. Show a city dweller wonders and they'll yawn, or take a photo and send it to somebody else with a message that says 'Wow.'"
I loved these gorgeously-written, mysterious stories with their dreamlike narratives and their Borgesian images.
Oyeyemi's best so far, with some truly stunning turns of phrase.
Wow, this was a wild ride. I feel like I only understood about 10% of what I read. Still, I enjoyed reading this collection a lot - at least in the beginning. The last couple of stories unfortunately didn't connect with me quite as well as some of the previous.
The writing is very beautiful, incredibly intricate and complex and there's more happening between the lines than what's on the page. I think I would have had to read each story several times with my mind on high alert and a book club at hand to thoroughly discuss to come even close to fully grasping what these stories were all about.
I loved that these stories are also somehow intertwined and was always glad to see a familiar face again, even though the timelines might have been jumbled and the circumstances and contexts were different and one was left wondering what happened in-between. Also, lots of racial and sexual diversity!
There's one thing many of the stories have in common that I didn't quite like: plot lines that felt unnecessary, out of sorts, like dead weight. But maybe I just didn't understand why they were there.
books and roses ★★★☆☆
So many stories within stories! There's Montse growing up, there's Lucy's tale of her lover, and the letter of Montse's mother. I didn't figure out how they were all connected but it was a very intriguing story with a dash of mystery, a great library, and a secret garden. I especially loved the story of the mysterious death and the story of Isidoro. It also features f/f romance and black characters.
'sorry' doesn't sweeten her tea ★★★★★
Damn, I loved this one, even though it feels quite fragmented. On the one hand, there's this weird house of locks with doors that won't stay shut, a weird fish, and spirits. On the other, there's a powerful story that so fittingly reflects the #metoo movement: a beloved pop star abusing a prostitute and when she comes forward, the fans turn on her, going full on victim blaming. It was uncanny to read. However, the consequences were pretty epic. I also loved the m/m family dynamic and the two daughters.
is your blood as red as this? ★★★☆☆
Here, we meet Tyche from the previous story again, just much younger and in a totally different situation. However, I'm not quite sure who the narrators were. We have an Indian protagonist and I really loved the idea of a translation destroying the text. The main character seems to be bi, since she has an f/f unrequited crush, but is later on in an f/m relationship. And it's all about puppets. Living puppets and real puppets and weird puppeteers. There are undertones of abuse, and many stories within stories: Gepetta, Rowan and Myrna, and of course the protagonist's story in the present.
drownings ★★★☆☆
For me, this was the most straight forward story, but it was somehow lacking. It's the story of a tyrant drowning his people, it's the story of Arkady and his friends, who just try to get by, it's the story of keys and their power to unlock things, and of women taking power into their own hands.
presence ★★★★☆
This one was weird and scary and felt like it could be a Doctor Who episode (for adults). The protas are black and there's also a non-cameo of Radha and Myrna from two stories ago. It's a couple who's in a sort of will they won't hey split up situation testing a drug that's supposed to bring back people, but it has severe side effects. What felt out of place were the episodes of Jill's work at a prison.
a brief history of the homely wench society ★★★★★
Oh, this one was great! It features Dayang from 'sorry' and Myrna is also mentioned again. It's at its core a boys vs. girls situation with two clubs at uni constantly at odds with each other. There are great female friendships, an ESC stint (always here for these mentions), and the girls stirring up trouble with the boys with one of the funniest ideas: swapping out their old white men books with feminist literature. There's also a bit of 'forbidden' romance. For me, that was a heck yes, girls! kind of story.
dornička and the st martin's day goose ★★☆☆☆
I usually love fairytale retellings and this is one of Little Red Riding Hood but with a sacrificial goose. However, it is a very weird one that's also a bit yucky. Maybe that's why I didn't connect with it.
freddy barrandov checks ... in? ★★★☆☆
There are many familiar faces turning up here: Aisha, Ched, and Tyche. I loved the idea of Hotel Glissando where you check in and never leave and all your wishes are fulfilled (and you can read quite a bit into it). However, the connections between the characters were all over the place: Freddy is in a relationship with Aisha and gets hired by his godfather - who's also Ched's father - to break up Ched and Tyche. And then there's a whole portion on Aisha's Russian spy puppet film ... colour me confused.
If a book is locked there's probably a good reason for that, don't you think ★★★☆☆
I liked the setup: the company is an employee surveyor based solely on numbers and not on people, then there's the new co-worker Eva, who's quiet and withdrawn. The protagonist connects with her on that level. When a woman with her son comes in to accuse Eva of seeing her husband, everyone except the protagonist turns against her. There's also a diary in the mix that's not what one would expect.
The writing is very beautiful, incredibly intricate and complex and there's more happening between the lines than what's on the page. I think I would have had to read each story several times with my mind on high alert and a book club at hand to thoroughly discuss to come even close to fully grasping what these stories were all about.
I loved that these stories are also somehow intertwined and was always glad to see a familiar face again, even though the timelines might have been jumbled and the circumstances and contexts were different and one was left wondering what happened in-between. Also, lots of racial and sexual diversity!
There's one thing many of the stories have in common that I didn't quite like: plot lines that felt unnecessary, out of sorts, like dead weight. But maybe I just didn't understand why they were there.
books and roses ★★★☆☆
So many stories within stories! There's Montse growing up, there's Lucy's tale of her lover, and the letter of Montse's mother. I didn't figure out how they were all connected but it was a very intriguing story with a dash of mystery, a great library, and a secret garden. I especially loved the story of the mysterious death and the story of Isidoro. It also features f/f romance and black characters.
'sorry' doesn't sweeten her tea ★★★★★
Damn, I loved this one, even though it feels quite fragmented. On the one hand, there's this weird house of locks with doors that won't stay shut, a weird fish, and spirits. On the other, there's a powerful story that so fittingly reflects the #metoo movement: a beloved pop star abusing a prostitute and when she comes forward, the fans turn on her, going full on victim blaming. It was uncanny to read. However, the consequences were pretty epic. I also loved the m/m family dynamic and the two daughters.
is your blood as red as this? ★★★☆☆
Here, we meet Tyche from the previous story again, just much younger and in a totally different situation. However, I'm not quite sure who the narrators were. We have an Indian protagonist and I really loved the idea of a translation destroying the text. The main character seems to be bi, since she has an f/f unrequited crush, but is later on in an f/m relationship. And it's all about puppets. Living puppets and real puppets and weird puppeteers. There are undertones of abuse, and many stories within stories: Gepetta, Rowan and Myrna, and of course the protagonist's story in the present.
drownings ★★★☆☆
For me, this was the most straight forward story, but it was somehow lacking. It's the story of a tyrant drowning his people, it's the story of Arkady and his friends, who just try to get by, it's the story of keys and their power to unlock things, and of women taking power into their own hands.
presence ★★★★☆
This one was weird and scary and felt like it could be a Doctor Who episode (for adults). The protas are black and there's also a non-cameo of Radha and Myrna from two stories ago. It's a couple who's in a sort of will they won't hey split up situation testing a drug that's supposed to bring back people, but it has severe side effects. What felt out of place were the episodes of Jill's work at a prison.
a brief history of the homely wench society ★★★★★
Oh, this one was great! It features Dayang from 'sorry' and Myrna is also mentioned again. It's at its core a boys vs. girls situation with two clubs at uni constantly at odds with each other. There are great female friendships, an ESC stint (always here for these mentions), and the girls stirring up trouble with the boys with one of the funniest ideas: swapping out their old white men books with feminist literature. There's also a bit of 'forbidden' romance. For me, that was a heck yes, girls! kind of story.
dornička and the st martin's day goose ★★☆☆☆
I usually love fairytale retellings and this is one of Little Red Riding Hood but with a sacrificial goose. However, it is a very weird one that's also a bit yucky. Maybe that's why I didn't connect with it.
freddy barrandov checks ... in? ★★★☆☆
There are many familiar faces turning up here: Aisha, Ched, and Tyche. I loved the idea of Hotel Glissando where you check in and never leave and all your wishes are fulfilled (and you can read quite a bit into it). However, the connections between the characters were all over the place: Freddy is in a relationship with Aisha and gets hired by his godfather - who's also Ched's father - to break up Ched and Tyche. And then there's a whole portion on Aisha's Russian spy puppet film ... colour me confused.
If a book is locked there's probably a good reason for that, don't you think ★★★☆☆
I liked the setup: the company is an employee surveyor based solely on numbers and not on people, then there's the new co-worker Eva, who's quiet and withdrawn. The protagonist connects with her on that level. When a woman with her son comes in to accuse Eva of seeing her husband, everyone except the protagonist turns against her. There's also a diary in the mix that's not what one would expect.
This is by no means a bad book; it just isn't for me. The prose is beautiful. The premises of the stories are interesting. I just can't get into the narrative style, which is a bit too abstract for my tastes. Helen Oyeyemi is a talented writer and I have recommended her books to great success, but I'm starting to think they just aren't for me.
I don't usually read short stories. I find them difficult for many reasons. For one, they can be so vague. For another, you usually have to think SO much harder - which gets to be a lot when there are 10 or so in a row in a book. And lastly, related to the previous, I feel like for each story, I need a break, time to absorb and resolve, before reading the next...which takes quite some time and is not always possible when a book is from the library. Perhaps all my forays into short stories should be purchased? In any case, this isn't a genre I'm used to reading or rating, so take this all with a grain of salt. But, this set of stories was really moving. My favorite part, in each of them, was the development and descriptions of the relationships. Very real, in an aloof sort of way. All just...people. Of the connecting features in the stories, I thought the continuation of certain characters, and one Tyche in particular, was a nice touch. Nothing special, but something extra. As for the keys...I just still can't decide. I love keys. The idea of them as the touching stone for these pieces is what appealed to me to begin with. Well, that and the fact that the title "what is not yours is not yours" is in my top 5 favorite book titles ever. But I go back and forth. In some cases, I loved their role (books and roses, drownings, freddy barrandov checks...in), but in a few of the others (presence, in particular) I thought they may have been forced. The few in which the key was more metaphorical, those I enjoyed as well. As far as individual stories go, I loved books and roses, "sorry" doesn't sweeten her tea, a brief history of the homely wench society. And the title of the last story, if a book is locked there's probably a good reason for that don't you think, but am not sure the story lived up to the title. But I liked those three in particular because there was a little extra spark they had, a bit of verve perhaps, that just lit them up for me. "Sorry" was my #1 - it spoke to me. I can't put my finger on why. All in all though, the writing was gorgeous. Deep and picturesque. There are some stories I'd like to read again, like I said short stories make you think more, and I am sure I've not thought of something. Perhaps I'll buy it, so I can read it again at pace slower than the library-dictated option. An impressive collection of mystical life snapshots.
This book of short stories was fascinating, unsettling, engrossing and wildly imaginative. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.
The first three short stories were dazzling and if the rest had been as good I would have given the collection five stars. I think I prefer Oyeyemi as a novelist, but I’ll read anything she writes!