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kaeleevincent's review
4.0
At times this felt like the most poetic and deeply romantic thing I’d ever read, and at others it felt like a try-hard 15 year old writing tumblr posts into the void. Still really liked it though, the stories are the perfect length to get hooked and left wanting just a little more.
I was definitely impressed with some of the plot lines/plot twists.
I was definitely impressed with some of the plot lines/plot twists.
leni67's review
1.0
Oscillating breast and buttocks? What rubbish is this? Does the author’s penis oscillate when he runs? Does he also think beautiful women rub soap sensually in their most private places in the shower? Has this man ever met a woman? And you cannot prevent cellulite by running, it’s genetic. Tossed this book across the room and it’s still sitting in the corner where I’m afraid to touch it again.
counthannahreadsalot's review
5.0
These were some top notch short stories. Felix J Palma certainly knows how to write a gripping work of literature. In turns warm, thoughtful, and disturbing, all the stories were very different interpretations of love.
sanalith's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lifeinpoetry's review
DNF a minute or so into the second story.
The first story made me cross. The main character's girlfriend/alternate reality girlfriend was more a barely sketched out fantasy than a real woman, she was custom ordered and created by his grandfather for his pleasure. Then the second story started and a woman's body is described in such an obnoxious way I was completely done.
The first story made me cross. The main character's girlfriend/alternate reality girlfriend was more a barely sketched out fantasy than a real woman, she was custom ordered and created by his grandfather for his pleasure. Then the second story started and a woman's body is described in such an obnoxious way I was completely done.
clairevoyants's review
3.0
Errggg I’m torn. Three of these stories are fantastic ("Snow Globe," "The Land of the Dolls," "Roses Against the Wind"), and Palma pulled off the unique structure of one story that he had no business to make work, but it totally did ("The Seven [Or So] Lives of Sebastian Mingorance"). Some of the prose was really pretty; some of it was overwrought. But quite a few of the stories fell flat; the cat story was straight-up bad ("Meows"). While the concepts of some were good ("The Man Behind The Curtain," "The Heart and Other Viscera") I found myself scratching my head because something about the execution didn't feel quite right— as if the stories, although magical realism, weren't fully convinced of their own story logic.
Primarily I was disappointed by how the women characters were written and treated throughout; only two of the twelve stories are narrated by a woman or written about a woman protagonist, in addition to just like, Trademark Female Character Treatment of every other woman, which consistently made the collection hard for me to enjoy.
Here's my ranking:
5 stars - Snow Globe, The Land of the Dolls, Roses Against the Wind
4 stars - The Violinist on the Roof, The Heart and Other Viscera, The Seven (Or So) Lives of Sebastian Mingorance
3 stars - The Karenina Syndrome, The Man Behind the Curtain
2 stars - A Fairy-Tale Life, The Brave Anesthetist
1 star - Little Furry Animals, Meows
Primarily I was disappointed by how the women characters were written and treated throughout; only two of the twelve stories are narrated by a woman or written about a woman protagonist, in addition to just like, Trademark Female Character Treatment of every other woman, which consistently made the collection hard for me to enjoy.
Here's my ranking:
5 stars - Snow Globe, The Land of the Dolls, Roses Against the Wind
4 stars - The Violinist on the Roof, The Heart and Other Viscera, The Seven (Or So) Lives of Sebastian Mingorance
3 stars - The Karenina Syndrome, The Man Behind the Curtain
2 stars - A Fairy-Tale Life, The Brave Anesthetist
1 star - Little Furry Animals, Meows
acinthedc's review
2.0
I found this collection of dark and disturbing stories to be uneven. Most had an interesting angle, but some were overly long or stylistically challenging. I thought the following were the strongest pieces in this collection - The Land of the Dolls, Roses against the Wind, and The Heart and Other Viscera. There may also have been some issues with the translation as I caught a few grammatical errors throughout. Overall 2.5 out of 5
raewood's review
2.0
A stereotypical male author gaze if I've ever seen one. Lots of bouncing breasts and love stories that women don't know they're a part of because some guy staring out a window staked a claim on her. Nothing creative, subversive, or new here, just some so-so, rehashed tales with no real destination.