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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
The best stories in this 1993 collection are the short written in 1972 about the crazy teacher and the one that is the exact same story as the 1988 movie THEY LIVE. There is too much rambling folksy schtick for my liking and this isn’t even the first accomplished horror book I’ve read this year to peter out in its last hundred pages with lengthy descriptions of amateur sporting endeavours.
It's hard for me to give 5 stars on a short story collection, because there is always that one story that does not please. A short story collection in audiobook format makes it even harder because it takes me longer to finish as I don't listen to audiobooks everyday, which makes the wow factor go away with the chopping of the reading (or should I said listening) flow.
But this one made it.
I almost gave it a 4-star because of Heads Down, since not being a fan of baseball and not knowing well the rules of the game, I must admit I had no idea of what was being said in about at least half of the story, if not more (most likely much more). But it still made an impression on me. A good one. Because at the end of the day it was a story about the life of 12-yard-old boys playing together as a team rather than of baseball really.
But this one made it.
I almost gave it a 4-star because of Heads Down, since not being a fan of baseball and not knowing well the rules of the game, I must admit I had no idea of what was being said in about at least half of the story, if not more (most likely much more). But it still made an impression on me. A good one. Because at the end of the day it was a story about the life of 12-yard-old boys playing together as a team rather than of baseball really.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Finally!
It took me forever (okay, really only 30 days, but that's practically the same) to finish this book.
I've decided that, for the most part, I just don't enjoy short story collections. I don't mind big books (King's uncut version of The Stand remains one of my favorites, and I read it multiple times in my younger days), so I'm not exactly sure where the disconnect is, other than possibly you don't really stay with the characters long enough for them to matter to you as much as they do in novels.
There are, of course, exceptions, and there are a few stories here that I enjoyed and will remember for a while. Others, now, looking at the title after having just finished the book, I can't recall a single thing about them.
The standouts for me were: Dolan's Cadillac, Popsy, Chattery Teeth, The Moving Finger, You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, Rainy Season, and The House on Maple Street. Dolan's Cadillac was the lead story and by far the strongest.
There were some interesting links between some of the stories, or at least it seemed that way by the order in which they were arranged.
Overall, though, this collection was "just okay." If I rated the stories individually, none would be above a 4, and there would probably only be two of those.
2 out of 5 stars.
It took me forever (okay, really only 30 days, but that's practically the same) to finish this book.
I've decided that, for the most part, I just don't enjoy short story collections. I don't mind big books (King's uncut version of The Stand remains one of my favorites, and I read it multiple times in my younger days), so I'm not exactly sure where the disconnect is, other than possibly you don't really stay with the characters long enough for them to matter to you as much as they do in novels.
There are, of course, exceptions, and there are a few stories here that I enjoyed and will remember for a while. Others, now, looking at the title after having just finished the book, I can't recall a single thing about them.
The standouts for me were: Dolan's Cadillac, Popsy, Chattery Teeth, The Moving Finger, You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, Rainy Season, and The House on Maple Street. Dolan's Cadillac was the lead story and by far the strongest.
There were some interesting links between some of the stories, or at least it seemed that way by the order in which they were arranged.
Overall, though, this collection was "just okay." If I rated the stories individually, none would be above a 4, and there would probably only be two of those.
2 out of 5 stars.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Liked some of the stories and some of them were more of a chore the et through. Really liked Chattery Teeth, Dolan’s Cadillac, and Umney’s last case.
dark
dark
medium-paced