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robinks's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As a mixed-race person, I wanted to read stories that captured experiences like mine. The stories in this anthology span a wide range of settings and topics, and a lot of them really captured nuances of the mixed-race experience. What was interesting to me is that some stories were about a mixed-race experience that differed from that of the author of the piece. My favorites were:
1. Triad - cool literary juxtaposition, and the commentary after posed some interesting questions
2. Minotaur - fantasy
3. The Lost Sparrow - dark and sad, based on true events
4. Mrs. Turner’s Lawn Jockeys - funny
5. The Non-Babylonians - the artist was the most interesting character
6. Human Mathematics - about code-switching and privilege
7. Effigies - race intersected with gender
8. Caste System - family and subtle cultural nuance
9. Unacknowledged - also about family and cultural negotiation
10. Wayward - dark, also speaks about privilege
11. My Elizabeth - loved the images
12. The Anthropologists’ Kids - secrets and childhood shenanigans
1. Triad - cool literary juxtaposition, and the commentary after posed some interesting questions
2. Minotaur - fantasy
3. The Lost Sparrow - dark and sad, based on true events
4. Mrs. Turner’s Lawn Jockeys - funny
5. The Non-Babylonians - the artist was the most interesting character
6. Human Mathematics - about code-switching and privilege
7. Effigies - race intersected with gender
8. Caste System - family and subtle cultural nuance
9. Unacknowledged - also about family and cultural negotiation
10. Wayward - dark, also speaks about privilege
11. My Elizabeth - loved the images
12. The Anthropologists’ Kids - secrets and childhood shenanigans
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Animal cruelty, and Dementia
Minor: Suicide, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Cancer, Excrement, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Xenophobia
21stcenturycowgirl's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
cameliarose's review
4.0
This is a collection of short stories about multiracial experiences. Written by writers who are multi-racial themselves, however, they are not mini-biographies. I enjoyed most of them, although they are not always the same quality and depth.
My favourites:
The anthropologists' kids by Ruth Ozeki
A poignant and innocent tale with a dark edge, very fitting in today's global political climate. I am fan of Ruth Ozeki's lucid and effortless writing.
Minotaur by Peter Ho Davies
A modern fable of a half-man half-beast, short but forceful. It's a pure linguistic pleasure to read this prose poem.
Unacknowledged by Brian Ascalon Roley
A very sharp story. Multiracial identity crisis clashes with sexual development, double dosage of growing up in pain.
Caste system by Mary Yukari Waters
A beautiful short story. It is more about Japan than multiracial experience. It captures the subtlety of eastern culture very well.
Wayward by Chandra Prasad
Dark and violent, Wayward catches me off guard, the only problem of which is too short. It could be a brilliant thriller.
Mrs. Turner's lawn Jockeys by Emily Raboteau
A cute story, it makes me laugh out loud.
Others:
Effigies by Lucinda Roy
Gender issue or race issue? Can you always make a clean cut? The survival of a suppressed coloured man sometimes includes being ignorant if not dominant to the even more suppressed coloured women.
Footnote by Carmit Delman
Is this story the "weird" one mentioned by another reviewer? A woman's searching for her partial identity in her blood but missing from her upbringing.
My Elizabeth by Diana Abu-Jaber
A snapshot of American Indian history in 1970s, told through a young girl of mixed parentage. The writing style is not my favourite. I find it broken or incessant at times.
Falling sky by Cristina Garcia
A story about a troubled teenage boy of multiracial parentage, set in Vietnam. Aren't all teenagers troubled?
Hollywood by Marina Budhos
A story about a troubled teenage girl of multiracial parentage and her equally troubled mother.
Human mathematics by Mamle Kabu
A race-incident in an English boarding school and a mixed race girl who is on both sides therefore on neither side.
Bing-Chen by Neela Vaswani
Is this story the "pointless" one mentioned about another reviewer?
The lost sparrow by Kien Nguyen
The bleakest story in this collection. It's more about Vietnam than multiracial experience.
Triad by Danzy Senna
A literature experiment.
My favourites:
The anthropologists' kids by Ruth Ozeki
A poignant and innocent tale with a dark edge, very fitting in today's global political climate. I am fan of Ruth Ozeki's lucid and effortless writing.
Minotaur by Peter Ho Davies
A modern fable of a half-man half-beast, short but forceful. It's a pure linguistic pleasure to read this prose poem.
Unacknowledged by Brian Ascalon Roley
A very sharp story. Multiracial identity crisis clashes with sexual development, double dosage of growing up in pain.
Caste system by Mary Yukari Waters
A beautiful short story. It is more about Japan than multiracial experience. It captures the subtlety of eastern culture very well.
Wayward by Chandra Prasad
Dark and violent, Wayward catches me off guard, the only problem of which is too short. It could be a brilliant thriller.
Mrs. Turner's lawn Jockeys by Emily Raboteau
A cute story, it makes me laugh out loud.
Others:
Effigies by Lucinda Roy
Gender issue or race issue? Can you always make a clean cut? The survival of a suppressed coloured man sometimes includes being ignorant if not dominant to the even more suppressed coloured women.
Footnote by Carmit Delman
Is this story the "weird" one mentioned by another reviewer? A woman's searching for her partial identity in her blood but missing from her upbringing.
My Elizabeth by Diana Abu-Jaber
A snapshot of American Indian history in 1970s, told through a young girl of mixed parentage. The writing style is not my favourite. I find it broken or incessant at times.
Falling sky by Cristina Garcia
A story about a troubled teenage boy of multiracial parentage, set in Vietnam. Aren't all teenagers troubled?
Hollywood by Marina Budhos
A story about a troubled teenage girl of multiracial parentage and her equally troubled mother.
Human mathematics by Mamle Kabu
A race-incident in an English boarding school and a mixed race girl who is on both sides therefore on neither side.
Bing-Chen by Neela Vaswani
Is this story the "pointless" one mentioned about another reviewer?
The lost sparrow by Kien Nguyen
The bleakest story in this collection. It's more about Vietnam than multiracial experience.
Triad by Danzy Senna
A literature experiment.
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