Reviews

Machine by Susan Steinberg

thoughtcouture's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

chillcox15's review against another edition

4.0

Almost works as a poem-novel, but the fundamental repetitiveness of the narrative (warranted by the perspective and emotional tenor of the protagonist) make it a bit harder to engage on a strictly language basis. That being said, I think the core milieu of the narrator and her sibling, two vacation home rich kids acting out against their waterfront town surroundings, is ripe for exploration. The emotional registers that Steinberg hits here are undeniable.

bibliolucinda's review against another edition

5.0

"You can lie and say you're in control. Then the awful truth rushes in. You're not at all everlasting. You'll never be super-human. You can't stop things. You can't freeze time. You're in every way like everyone else. Like everything else. You'll end."

"the younger girls still think about love as arrows through hearts; and please, girls; I know about love; I know what it is; just tiny motors whirring in one's saddest, darkest parts;"

4.5 stars rounded up. Surprised by how much I liked this - it may be grating for some people in the experimentation with punctuation and poetic verse style, but I loved it and found it so easy to sink into the rhythm of the writing. I want to reread it immediately.

mearghan's review against another edition

5.0

These last lines will haunt me forever

I mean I've been trying to tell just one story for nearly my entire life.
I mean I'm still trying to tell that same fucking story.
Still trying.

misha_ali's review against another edition

3.0

This had some interesting ideas but the form put me off. There are some interesting themes around the idea of generational abuse and trauma entwined with the roles of men and women in this family, centered around an incident where a girl drowned, but the form (prose, but brief, almost poetry-like paragraphs, then solid walls of text to indicate mental turmoil, etc.) prevented me from enjoying this properly.

Some really interesting ideas drowning in a artsy form for no real reason, and to its detriment, in my opinion.

leesimpo's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

bhaines's review against another edition

I think

to the guys, I like to seem small and weak; to the girls, I like to seem something else; to the girls, I like to seem terrifying; like a supernova; like the ends of their sad little worlds

frederika_p's review against another edition

2.0

just a performative representation of depth via the unreliable narrator's fragmented account of the story... the themes were interesting though

julieb3a's review against another edition

dark

0.5

I don’t even really know what I just read. Nothing was funny, just a pissed off teenager and her sad life I guess. I think maybe I’m either not a fan of audiobooks or these short <200 pages books that don’t have a fully developed plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing and Drug use

tgbuck's review against another edition

2.0

There were juicy poetry moments, and I def felt plenty in a deep-ish heart place, so it wasn’t BAD. but eventually the semicolons bled into a drawl and by the end I was soooo tiiiired.