Reviews

excellent collection. biting stinging uncomfortable moments with soothing ice baths of scenery. the book moves so easily through the psychology and the emotion of the characters. least favorite story was probably the second to last one. my favorite was probably Mass? for now that one comes to mind because of how unexpected the tenderness of Alek’s brother comes. the prose is gorgeous. lots of wry observations. mwah mwah a good time

shawnapantzke's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

foldedpages's review against another edition

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3.0

I’d consider this a 3.5 star book. It was not the best collection of short stories (How to Pronounce Knife) or novel (Vanishing Half) I have read lately. I wonder if the book would have been better if fully committed to either form.

The writing was sharp, but I felt that many of the reoccurring characters were not as fully formed as they could have been.

aivilo's review against another edition

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3.75

I really loved the short stories that didn’t include the main three characters… those ones were a little too similar to ‘real life’. My faves were Anne of cleves and what made you made me!

hcorder's review

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

kscallahan's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Found this on a library pride rec list and went into it with few expectations. This still did not convert me to the way of short stories, but the one continued story and general sense of cohesion in time and place between them did help. I also found myself really enjoying the horrible messiness of the characters. My year of books with people who kinda suck at navigating their complex emotional and interpersonal lives? I can't get away from Wisconsin mentions though

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