Reviews

What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

yrc's review against another edition

4.0

This is the my first time reading Arimah's work. Aside from a few stories I didn't totally understand, her characters are easy to sympathize with and the stories are original.
My favorite ones are the one the collection is named for and the one about what happens when a hair child is created.

hellomateyboy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed some stories more than others but very enjoyable over all

stuckinafictionaluniverse's review

4.0

A collection of family stories, the expectations of others and a little bit of magic. I tried to separate these short stories into different categories because I found it hard to rate the collection as a whole.

2 stars: Wild, Second chances, Who will greet you at home. These three stories were too long without enough introspectiveness to keep me interested, and I struggled to connect with the main character. Sometimes the magical or elements were lost on me, which they created a distance between me and these chapters.

3 stars: War stories, Buchi's girls, What is a volcano? Well-written but almost overly ambitious for short stories?

4 stars: The future looks good, Windfalls, Glory. Great examples of where author managed to stories that pack a punch in less than 30 pages. The author says a lot about the characters through showing rather than telling.

5 stars: Light (my favorite!),What it means when a man falls from the sky, Redemption. All of these three nearly brought me to tears. They all feature a balance between tender and cutting relationships as well as vivid settings. These characters stayed with me after I closed the page.

I would love to read more from Arimah. As with most collections, it has its ups and downs, but the ups were brilliant.

njoky's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

amikael's review against another edition

informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

a2lulu's review

4.0

I confess I was hoping all of the stories would have the same haunted fabulist flavor as “Who Will Greet You at Home”, which I read separately first. I was slightly disappointed that only a few did, but I liked the mix of magical realism, science fiction, folk tale, surrealism, and realism. All of them were stellar - inventive and captivating. Some shades of Octavia Butler, Carmen Maria Machado, Yaa Gyasi, and Kurt Vonnegut.
“How does she make these stories so distilled and spacious at the same time?” - Aimee Bender

issoshima's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

iriidescent's review

5.0

Every one of these 12 short stories was a wild, heart-wrenching ride. So many cliffhangers. So many relevant themes: immigrant experiences, mother-daughter relationships, womanhood etc. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. I implore you to pick this up. RIGHT NOW.

faizastra's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

lilcoppertop's review

fast-paced

4.5