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caitpoytress's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book last weekend but I've been away from the computer this week and am just getting around to updating.
This was my first time reading Amelia Gray, and I'm quite taken with her. Not swept off of my feet and breathless like I was when I read my first Aimee Bender collection ([b:Willful Creatures: Stories|46209|Willful Creatures Stories|Aimee Bender|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170315682s/46209.jpg|2386]), but definitely in the same ballpark. Many of the stories are flash fiction length; some I wished were longer (Babies), while others were perfect in their brevity (Unsolved Mystery, The Quiet Complex). And one story (The Movement) inadvertently made me think of Radiohead, so extra thumbs up for that one. It seems kind of ridiculous to list my favorites here since it will probably consist of 2/3 of the stories in the book, but here they are anyway:
Babies
Waste
Unsolved Mystery
The Darkness
Trip Advisory: The Former Boyhood Home of President Ronald Reagan
Fish
The Cube
The Quiet Complex
Vultures
The Picture Window
The Movement
This was my first time reading Amelia Gray, and I'm quite taken with her. Not swept off of my feet and breathless like I was when I read my first Aimee Bender collection ([b:Willful Creatures: Stories|46209|Willful Creatures Stories|Aimee Bender|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170315682s/46209.jpg|2386]), but definitely in the same ballpark. Many of the stories are flash fiction length; some I wished were longer (Babies), while others were perfect in their brevity (Unsolved Mystery, The Quiet Complex). And one story (The Movement) inadvertently made me think of Radiohead, so extra thumbs up for that one. It seems kind of ridiculous to list my favorites here since it will probably consist of 2/3 of the stories in the book, but here they are anyway:
Babies
Waste
Unsolved Mystery
The Darkness
Trip Advisory: The Former Boyhood Home of President Ronald Reagan
Fish
The Cube
The Quiet Complex
Vultures
The Picture Window
The Movement
scarletohhara's review against another edition
4.0
Short stories aren't really my cup of tea, I always wonder if the author forgot to end the story... that is the case with the stories in this book too, but in this case, I was left wanting for more, in a creepy way. Such brilliant stories that I was grossed , creeped and was still wanting more..
nearfutures's review against another edition
2.0
More of a 2.5 than a 2, but not the kind of 2.5 I would round up.
Not an unenjoyable collection of short fiction per say, but for every story that resonated one or two that missed the boat. "Thoughts While Strolling" and "Fish" were wonderful; a lot of the others weren't. Some of the stories like "A Javelina Story" and "Code of Operation: Snake Farm" were enjoyable but for their humor rather than depth. Many of the stories gesture at compelling themes (relationship to the body, food, or both, deviance, perception) but aren't fully realized. Gray also overuses shock value mutilation/violence in a way that's sort of reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk's later works: by the third story where someone is doing something gross with food, it felt like a smoke screen for substance. If I'd read the stories individually I likely wouldn't have the latter complaint.
The creative writing instructor who recommended Gray to me said her later work "shows a lot of growth," so I'm interested in picking up her more recent collection.
Not an unenjoyable collection of short fiction per say, but for every story that resonated one or two that missed the boat. "Thoughts While Strolling" and "Fish" were wonderful; a lot of the others weren't. Some of the stories like "A Javelina Story" and "Code of Operation: Snake Farm" were enjoyable but for their humor rather than depth. Many of the stories gesture at compelling themes (relationship to the body, food, or both, deviance, perception) but aren't fully realized. Gray also overuses shock value mutilation/violence in a way that's sort of reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk's later works: by the third story where someone is doing something gross with food, it felt like a smoke screen for substance. If I'd read the stories individually I likely wouldn't have the latter complaint.
The creative writing instructor who recommended Gray to me said her later work "shows a lot of growth," so I'm interested in picking up her more recent collection.
smalefowles's review against another edition
3.0
More weird fiction, though it really just reminded me of the sort of horror fiction I read. In fact, a few of the stories contained more body horror than the horror I read.
Also reminiscent of Barthelme, and that's a big compliment from me. I finished it a day ago, though, and it's already faded almost entirely from mind, and that seems strange for a book so dependent on 'weird' imagery and whatnot. Perhaps it's really just a sign of my slipping faculties.
Anyway, likable and pretty weird.
Also reminiscent of Barthelme, and that's a big compliment from me. I finished it a day ago, though, and it's already faded almost entirely from mind, and that seems strange for a book so dependent on 'weird' imagery and whatnot. Perhaps it's really just a sign of my slipping faculties.
Anyway, likable and pretty weird.
plaguevacant's review against another edition
5.0
Five stars isn't enough for this collection, so I'm tying another five stars to the original set and placing them between two mirrors.
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
4.0
Delightfully weird and absurd. Occasionally gross. But even the gross things are described in unnerving rather than disgusting ways. Unsettling is also a very good word for this collection. The stories are quite short, so it moves along quickly. Plus the sentences are so great you're going to be hooked anyway, unless you don't like weird stuff.
5elementknitr's review against another edition
5.0
My friend Faith created the perfect review for this book. I'm going to badly paraphrase it here:
It's as though you are at a bar speaking to someone who is telling you a story, then that story takes a turn and goes completely off the rails. That person goes to get another drink and you are left thinking, "What the fuck just happened?!"
Each of these stories are quite short. I think the longest is... 12 pages? Many are just a couple of pages. All of them are weird as hell, and all of them are truly enjoyable!
It's as though you are at a bar speaking to someone who is telling you a story, then that story takes a turn and goes completely off the rails. That person goes to get another drink and you are left thinking, "What the fuck just happened?!"
Each of these stories are quite short. I think the longest is... 12 pages? Many are just a couple of pages. All of them are weird as hell, and all of them are truly enjoyable!
jessicah95's review against another edition
3.0
Rounded up from a 3.5 cause I'm feeling generous. I really enjoyed some of these surreal and imaginative stories. But some were just too bizarre for me and actually on the forgettable side. Will probably check out more from Amelia Gray though. A very interesting mind to produce little oddities like these!