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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
wah wah wah i am a white woman and romance is HARD and i BLAME everyone except myself, the problem >:( i'm sure that's the main crux in the bulk of these stories, which is a perfectly fine insight to highlight and discuss - but when it's stories with minimal diversity in tone GOD it's INSUFFERABLE...i only really liked ghost lover
This last year I've been becoming rather found of short stories and got intrigued by this one but unfortunately none of the story was appealing to me. Not my cup of tea
So vibrant and juicy that it feels like gossiping with your best friend- a friend so close they tell you their deepest, darkest thoughts.
Lisa Taddeo has a gift for illustrating how patriarchy affects women, not just in their relationships but deep to their core. It brings up themes of jealousy, resignation, obsession, loss, and connection. I found Taddeo’s exploration of friendships between women to be interesting in its honesty.
One standout was Forty-Two. It was an honest, sad look at womanhood. It contrasted two women’s expectations of their love lives- an older woman with hope versus a young woman resigned to what she thinks is realistic. It situated womanhood in perception- the picture of a memory meaning even more than the moment of a memory (unless you’re rolling in the hay with a very kind cowboy). It was also the first of many stories that discuss the value of youth, a commodity for women in a patriarchal society.
Taddeo’s typical dark tone is present throughout the collection, but there are lifting moments, too. There are shared thoughts between women during traumatic moments. There are friends who act selflessly. But there are many, many instances of fatphobia on the part of the narrators- it felt like a commentary by the author on the pressure, internal and external, to have a “conventionally attractive” body. Taddeo writes about thinness as she writes about youth- as a commodity, unfortunately. Still, it could be a difficult read for those with sensitivity around that subject, and would certainly be alienating to fat or larger-bodied readers.
I very much enjoyed this collection. It’s meaty enough to dig your teeth into, with enough to chew on that I’d like to give it a second read. Great stuff from Taddeo once again.
Lisa Taddeo has a gift for illustrating how patriarchy affects women, not just in their relationships but deep to their core. It brings up themes of jealousy, resignation, obsession, loss, and connection. I found Taddeo’s exploration of friendships between women to be interesting in its honesty.
One standout was Forty-Two. It was an honest, sad look at womanhood. It contrasted two women’s expectations of their love lives- an older woman with hope versus a young woman resigned to what she thinks is realistic. It situated womanhood in perception- the picture of a memory meaning even more than the moment of a memory (unless you’re rolling in the hay with a very kind cowboy). It was also the first of many stories that discuss the value of youth, a commodity for women in a patriarchal society.
Taddeo’s typical dark tone is present throughout the collection, but there are lifting moments, too. There are shared thoughts between women during traumatic moments. There are friends who act selflessly. But there are many, many instances of fatphobia on the part of the narrators- it felt like a commentary by the author on the pressure, internal and external, to have a “conventionally attractive” body. Taddeo writes about thinness as she writes about youth- as a commodity, unfortunately. Still, it could be a difficult read for those with sensitivity around that subject, and would certainly be alienating to fat or larger-bodied readers.
I very much enjoyed this collection. It’s meaty enough to dig your teeth into, with enough to chew on that I’d like to give it a second read. Great stuff from Taddeo once again.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ghost Lover is a collection of 9 short stories; all of the stories centre on love and depict grief, obsession and loss, Although I don't normally love short stories I felt that these would be a great way to read more of Lisa's work. I was not disappointed; although I didn't love all of the stories they all conveyed the raw, flawed and complicated feelings.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
i was thrilled to finally jump into my first lisa taddeo book after hearing nothing but good things about her writings. i thought that ghost lover could be a good introduction to her writing for me as it is a collection of nine short stories. i had done the same with lily king’s writing by jumping into her short stories first and so i had hope that this one could potentially impact me the same way that THAT did. but unfortunately—to preface this—it wasn’t as thrilling as i thought it would be.
lisa taddeo has definitely made a name for herself when it comes to unhinged women stories and having read this collection of short stories, i can definitely say that she does have the talent in writing about the dark side of femininity. however, i don’t think that it’s done well enough for me to fully like it. i love a few short stories like “ghost lover” and “forty-two” for example but aside from that i really do not feel any connection or interest in the other stories as much. the stories seems quite repetitive as well. it was as if this whole collection could easily be a full novel instead of a short story collection.
though the plot in some of the short stories were disappointing and draggy, the writing definitely gave me the "wow" factor. i love some of the passages she has written in this book and it definitely gave me that tiny spark to continue giving her other books a try. i definitely will, especially her famous one, animal. short stories are often a hit or miss for me but i have a feeling that if you have devoured taddeo’s other books before, you might enjoy ghost lover much more than me.
thank you to definitely books by pansing for sending a copy to me in exchange for an honest review!
lisa taddeo has definitely made a name for herself when it comes to unhinged women stories and having read this collection of short stories, i can definitely say that she does have the talent in writing about the dark side of femininity. however, i don’t think that it’s done well enough for me to fully like it. i love a few short stories like “ghost lover” and “forty-two” for example but aside from that i really do not feel any connection or interest in the other stories as much. the stories seems quite repetitive as well. it was as if this whole collection could easily be a full novel instead of a short story collection.
though the plot in some of the short stories were disappointing and draggy, the writing definitely gave me the "wow" factor. i love some of the passages she has written in this book and it definitely gave me that tiny spark to continue giving her other books a try. i definitely will, especially her famous one, animal. short stories are often a hit or miss for me but i have a feeling that if you have devoured taddeo’s other books before, you might enjoy ghost lover much more than me.
thank you to definitely books by pansing for sending a copy to me in exchange for an honest review!
I have to say I am a big fan of Lisa Taddeo but I found this collection of short stories harder to get through than her other works. Her prose is incredible and brutal, really showing the complex and ugly sides of the feminine. But a lot of her MCs in this collection felt obsessed with thinness and youth and being pretty that felt more repetitive and fatphobic than I think anticipated. Overall there were some good stories in here with Padua, 1966 being my stand out favorite. Definitely worth it if you're a fan of her works but I wouldn't start here if you've never read Lisa before.
I was a huge fan of “Animal” and “Three Women” but I felt like this collection fell a little flat. I thought the characters and themes became pretty redundant, like I was reading about the same character in slightly different plots each time.
DNF at page 26; not worth your time and idk how this book got so many great reviews.