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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My body and yours: preserved forever in this bog.
This book has changed me.
This book has changed me.
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
3’5/5
I wanted to like this short-story collection so much more than I ended up liking it. Queer horror and gothic adjacent texts are one of my weak spots, so I was incredibly eager to read a contemporary lesbian collection of them. Sadly, most of these stories felt very one note to me, and the little variety in themes and style didn’t help in making most of them distinct from each-other, as some reviewers have pointed out. The lyricism and poetry-like quality of the writing felt very shallow, a lack of variation that’s made more evident by the shift in narrative genre some of these stories have; a movie script in “Sad Straight Sex at the End of the World” or a poem in “Break-up poem recited knee deep in bog water”, both of which read like the narrative-style written texts that they’re sandwiched in between.
Nevertheless, I did find some of the stories very compelling and keep coming back to how they depicted and interacted with the themes of sex, the end of the world and womanhood that permeates Eyes Guts Throat Bones:
•“What would you give for a treat like me”: A depiction of the desire of motherhood by queer women, punctuated by folk-story elements and cannibalism. Thematically very well threaded and made emotionally poignant by the opposing views of the main couple.
•“Nature Morte”: My favourite story in the entire collection. A very raw depiction of grief and how it affects those who surround those grieving and our own creativity.
•“Such a pretty face” and “The summoning”: Both belong to the Eyes sub-index, both were deeply entertaining and grotesquely funny.
•“The carrier”: Pregnancy as body-horror at its finest.
•“Big round ball of light and the water”: I found this to be one of the more adult narrations in the collection and one of the more thought provoking. Seven women trapped in an island, seven women tasked with the world not ending. It also features the only key trans character in the collection, which felt like a breeze of fresh air.
I see Eyes Guts Throat Bones as a collection full of potential, one that’s not bad at what it sets out to do, for it does navigate its themes with confidence and coherence. But I also think that the worst crime a text that intends to dig skin-deep can commit is being superficial, which is the trap most of these short-stories fall into with their stylistically inconsequential lyricism and lack of variety in characters and depth.
I wanted to like this short-story collection so much more than I ended up liking it. Queer horror and gothic adjacent texts are one of my weak spots, so I was incredibly eager to read a contemporary lesbian collection of them. Sadly, most of these stories felt very one note to me, and the little variety in themes and style didn’t help in making most of them distinct from each-other, as some reviewers have pointed out. The lyricism and poetry-like quality of the writing felt very shallow, a lack of variation that’s made more evident by the shift in narrative genre some of these stories have; a movie script in “Sad Straight Sex at the End of the World” or a poem in “Break-up poem recited knee deep in bog water”, both of which read like the narrative-style written texts that they’re sandwiched in between.
Nevertheless, I did find some of the stories very compelling and keep coming back to how they depicted and interacted with the themes of sex, the end of the world and womanhood that permeates Eyes Guts Throat Bones:
•“What would you give for a treat like me”: A depiction of the desire of motherhood by queer women, punctuated by folk-story elements and cannibalism. Thematically very well threaded and made emotionally poignant by the opposing views of the main couple.
•“Nature Morte”: My favourite story in the entire collection. A very raw depiction of grief and how it affects those who surround those grieving and our own creativity.
•“Such a pretty face” and “The summoning”: Both belong to the Eyes sub-index, both were deeply entertaining and grotesquely funny.
•“The carrier”: Pregnancy as body-horror at its finest.
•“Big round ball of light and the water”: I found this to be one of the more adult narrations in the collection and one of the more thought provoking. Seven women trapped in an island, seven women tasked with the world not ending. It also features the only key trans character in the collection, which felt like a breeze of fresh air.
I see Eyes Guts Throat Bones as a collection full of potential, one that’s not bad at what it sets out to do, for it does navigate its themes with confidence and coherence. But I also think that the worst crime a text that intends to dig skin-deep can commit is being superficial, which is the trap most of these short-stories fall into with their stylistically inconsequential lyricism and lack of variety in characters and depth.
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
loved it. loved it loved it loved it. only thing i didn't like was the visceral gore in a few stories but that's purely a personal preference. sooooooo good. break up poem recited in knee-deep bog water was easily my favourite
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
‘I had always loved watching you eat. You did it with such abandon, neck arched, eyes half-closed, an almost erotic act. You loved food, and through your enjoyment I learnt to love it too.’
.
It’s rare when it happens, but I just need a second to put together my thoughts about what I just finished reading. Although I’m 100% sure this is a collection of (I could say) horror short stories, it somehow felt like poetry? Like I was reading someone’s most intimate thoughts or entries in a diary, it had me blushing at times and almost crying - so beautifully written that it didn’t bother me at all to read about the end of the world or the ghost of Stephen Gately.
.
Trust me, you need to read it to fully understand my ramblings, I know I’m not making much sense, but you’ll see I’m actually right! I’m kind of in love with the writing style, so you need to fall in love with it too.
.
What would you do if you knew tomorrow will be the end of the world?
.
It’s rare when it happens, but I just need a second to put together my thoughts about what I just finished reading. Although I’m 100% sure this is a collection of (I could say) horror short stories, it somehow felt like poetry? Like I was reading someone’s most intimate thoughts or entries in a diary, it had me blushing at times and almost crying - so beautifully written that it didn’t bother me at all to read about the end of the world or the ghost of Stephen Gately.
.
Trust me, you need to read it to fully understand my ramblings, I know I’m not making much sense, but you’ll see I’m actually right! I’m kind of in love with the writing style, so you need to fall in love with it too.
.
What would you do if you knew tomorrow will be the end of the world?
some of the stories were unreal and had me addicted whereas some of the others i just didn’t care for