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emilyisreading2024's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fantastic collection of memorable short stories. Thanks to Andrea for lending it to me!
seyfried13c's review against another edition
4.0
These stories were tough to read through- full of loss, grief, and harsh change. At the same time, I found them to be refreshing. Though the collection was definitely not a "feel good" read, none of the stories came across as extremely bleak or even depressing. In a way, it was cathartic to experience some of the raw emotions that these characters were feeling and to weigh the choices that the characters in these stories had to make.
Above all, I think that these stories are important narratives that should be preserved if not only for the sake of their value as cultural artifacts. I further valued the specific narrative told over and over again in many different ways in this collection: women making decisions about their own lives...women struggling with independence, change, relationships, and their own wants and needs. I think that those are stories worth sharing.
I would carefully recommend this collection to the right friend. I would advise that they not read more than one or two of the short stories in one sitting, however tempting it might be to turn the page.
Above all, I think that these stories are important narratives that should be preserved if not only for the sake of their value as cultural artifacts. I further valued the specific narrative told over and over again in many different ways in this collection: women making decisions about their own lives...women struggling with independence, change, relationships, and their own wants and needs. I think that those are stories worth sharing.
I would carefully recommend this collection to the right friend. I would advise that they not read more than one or two of the short stories in one sitting, however tempting it might be to turn the page.
callieisreading's review against another edition
5.0
I can't put into words how much I absolutely loved this collection. Each story was lovely, haunting, and heartfelt. The stories were also the perfect length-long enough that you cared about the outcome, but short enough that no word felt wasted. I found myself fighting back tears as I repeatedly tortured myself by reading this in public. And it wasn't even necessarily the events within the stories that moved me (though they often did), but just the beauty of the language.
Let me put it this way- 99% of the time, I will gladly lend out any book I have, even to people I know won't return them, because books should be read, not sitting on my shelf. In this case, everyone needs to get their own copies- I'll be returning to mine often, and couldn't bear to part with it. Apologies!
Let me put it this way- 99% of the time, I will gladly lend out any book I have, even to people I know won't return them, because books should be read, not sitting on my shelf. In this case, everyone needs to get their own copies- I'll be returning to mine often, and couldn't bear to part with it. Apologies!
krislarsc's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book in a Goodsreads giveaway and I was pleasantly surprised. This collection of short stories is unlike any I've read before. The stories focus on the central relationships in one's life, and very much urge the reader to examine her/his own relationships. The descriptions of nature are a real treat and they have the power to completely transport the reader to the places depicted in each story.
reading_rainbow_with_chris's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Birds of a Lesser Paradise” by Megan Mathew Bergman
A woman shirks her responsibility to shelter lemurs. Another woman helps her father run a birding tour in her small home town. Another struggles with a pregnancy her ecofatalist partner does not approve of. These and other women in Bergman’s beautiful short story collection come into view with a clear-eyed, calm style that paints their life challenges as something to be pondered, not acted on. And I mean this as a compliment. Bergman develops these feminine characters with rich but conflicted inner lives, especially in the often parallels relationships to men, to mothers, and to animals. Bergman strikes a beautiful chord with a style that sings softly, even in the most dissonant narrative moments. This is also the collection’s weakness, as Bergman often strikes the same chord and thus each story starts to evaporate into a misty memory. When I go back and look again, particular standouts for me are Housewifely Arts, Birds of a Lesser Paradise, Yesterday’s Whales, Night Hunting, and the Artificial Heart.
Bergman’s stories are wonderful, but I look forward to seeing more variety in future works. As of now this is a beautifully ponderous collection. .
A woman shirks her responsibility to shelter lemurs. Another woman helps her father run a birding tour in her small home town. Another struggles with a pregnancy her ecofatalist partner does not approve of. These and other women in Bergman’s beautiful short story collection come into view with a clear-eyed, calm style that paints their life challenges as something to be pondered, not acted on. And I mean this as a compliment. Bergman develops these feminine characters with rich but conflicted inner lives, especially in the often parallels relationships to men, to mothers, and to animals. Bergman strikes a beautiful chord with a style that sings softly, even in the most dissonant narrative moments. This is also the collection’s weakness, as Bergman often strikes the same chord and thus each story starts to evaporate into a misty memory. When I go back and look again, particular standouts for me are Housewifely Arts, Birds of a Lesser Paradise, Yesterday’s Whales, Night Hunting, and the Artificial Heart.
Bergman’s stories are wonderful, but I look forward to seeing more variety in future works. As of now this is a beautifully ponderous collection. .
dave37's review against another edition
5.0
A touching, funny, thoughtful and terrifically enjoyable collection of stories. Distinctly Southern in tone, but universal in their message. Highly recommended.
storytimed's review against another edition
4.0
Collection of short stories themed around feminism, rural life, animals. Loved the way it wove in Ecology Facts but was frustrated by the passivity of many of the protagonists.
joshuadavid1986's review against another edition
4.0
EXACT RATING: 3.50 stars
Lovely stories. A few of them will stick with me, but all were enjoyable.
Lovely stories. A few of them will stick with me, but all were enjoyable.
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
I kept having to put the book down and appreaciate some of Bergman's sentences. All of the stories have the connection between humans and animals and nature and life and death running through them, and in most of the stories the protagonists relate better to and interact more fully with the animals than with the humans that share their lives...which would seem alienating in the hands of a less skilled storyteller.