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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Johnson's collection of interlinked short stories, all set in Britain's evocative fen country, defy genre. I find them disturbing and engrossing by turns. I enjoy her modern gothic imagination and the folktale influence in her work. In her short stories, birds bring warnings of death, sisters murder lovers, a girl turns into an eel, and a jealous house falls in love with a young woman. The stories put me in mind of two other new short story writers, Carmen Maria Machado and Lesley Nneka Arimah. All three write about young women and desire, and the stories border on horror (a genre I do not read). It is no mystery why a young woman's beginning sexual experiences may be tinged with horror. The World Health Organisation states that 50 percent of women and girls will experience at least episode of gender-based sexual violence in their life time. What is fascinating is that none of the protagonists in these stories see themselves as victims. Sexuality and their bodies are a source both of power and confusion. These are stories that will haunt you and stay with you.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Beautiful short stories interwoven with the theme of the fen land, a liminal, in between space that holds secrets and folkloric mystery
I really liked the author’s debut novel EVERYTHING UNDER but the uncanny lyrical bog witch vibes (my favorite kind of vibes) were overwhelming even for me in novel form and these short stories give the same great vibes in smaller doses. Back to wondering as I did when I read rime of the ancient mariner or watched the lighthouse or listened to the pirates of the caribbean soundtrack why I’m not the ghost of a hardy Victorian maid cast out to sea for my misdeeds and left to torment sea captains who cheat on their wives
Hele mooie, mysterieuze verhalen. Soms voelt de stijl zo traag en bevreemdend aan dat ik er een beetje in verdwijn en mijn aandacht wat verslapt, alsof Daisy Johnson zelf vastzat in haar eigen zinnen, maar toch blijven de verhalen verontrustend en vol spanning.
The subtle eeriness of this collection was compelling. I found myself enjoying the pace and length of each story, though the sparseness of the prose often left me filling in gaps with uncertainty. The unifying backdrop of the "fen" was executed well. The Cormac McCarthy-esque lack of proper punctuation for dialogue, though rarely needed, was utterly unappealing. Experiments with style and structure were evident, and while not all were quite successful, there were still a few stories I will remember for some time.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars. Johnsons prose is haunting and beautiful. While her writing was gorgeous, the pacing and order of the stories seemed off to me. While there were many strong stories in the early part of the anthology dealing with female adolescence and youthful sexuality, the stories towards the end of the collection which dealt with marriage, children and older empowered females seemed notably weaker, as if the author hadn't yet richly experienced some of those rights and passages.
A pretty amazing landscape and some fascinating stories about belief and liminality and transformation. Some stories hit home more than others, but I liked the appearance of foxes in later stories and the way animals had lives and minds of their own.