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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Probably more of a 3.5 but I'm rounding up because when the stories were good, they were GOOD.
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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:
N/A
A little hard to follow at times, I'll probably change my rating after the book club discussion.
This is one of the best books of short stories I have ever read. They were all lovely, and different, and subtly connected. I love Oyeyemi’s writing and I think it really suits the short form particularly.
A collection of short stories that fall into the category of surrealism and they are more centered in the characters themselves and how they perceive things than in the action itself, although almost all have a clean conclusion, which makes it easy to enjoy.
It is not a very long book and if you want to try some modern surrealism without the complications of some other authors, it may be a good way to go.
It is not a very long book and if you want to try some modern surrealism without the complications of some other authors, it may be a good way to go.
Yet another book of delightful, slightly surreal, feminist short stories. Better, though — far more delightful than creepy. Will read more Oyeyemi.
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"Before assuming ownership of a key, you should look at it closely. Not only because you may need to identify it later but because to look at a key is to get an impression of the lock it was made for, and by extension, the entire establishment surrounding the lock" (298).
While this statement—from the last story in the collection, "Freddy Barrandov Checks... In?"—refers to an actual key for a hotel room, it really struck me as a line that summed up one of the major themes of the entire book. Keys string their way through all the stories, whether they are actual keys, like key cards to hotel rooms, or something more metaphorical. Sometimes the keys are almost incidental to the stories, just an everyday object that happens to be around, but they are always there, consistently reminding the reader of the the secrecy and history that they contain.
Reading Oyeyemi at times can be a bit like swimming in rough water: if you struggle too much you're bound to panic and keep getting seawater in your lungs and risk drowning. Sometimes it's better to just relax and float along on the prose, just taking it all in. You won't regret the experience.
"Before assuming ownership of a key, you should look at it closely. Not only because you may need to identify it later but because to look at a key is to get an impression of the lock it was made for, and by extension, the entire establishment surrounding the lock" (298).
While this statement—from the last story in the collection, "Freddy Barrandov Checks... In?"—refers to an actual key for a hotel room, it really struck me as a line that summed up one of the major themes of the entire book. Keys string their way through all the stories, whether they are actual keys, like key cards to hotel rooms, or something more metaphorical. Sometimes the keys are almost incidental to the stories, just an everyday object that happens to be around, but they are always there, consistently reminding the reader of the the secrecy and history that they contain.
Reading Oyeyemi at times can be a bit like swimming in rough water: if you struggle too much you're bound to panic and keep getting seawater in your lungs and risk drowning. Sometimes it's better to just relax and float along on the prose, just taking it all in. You won't regret the experience.
Inconsistent, but when it's good--it's so damn good. Read the one about the puppets.
This book really captivated me, but in the most confusing manner possible. I loved it in so many ways, but couldn't help but feel disappointed by it to, and this mostly came down to the thing that others have complained about - the vague, open endings. But I loved what everybody else loved too, and this book is distinctly more magical than most. It contains all the ingredients of successful magical realism, great fairy tales, beautiful prose and curious characters. I just like my 'moral' to be a little more focused and a lot less vague. I felt like a character from this book at times because a lot of them are after something that is slightly out of reach. I was peeking through the keyhole, desperate to get through the door to the other side! Sadly, I simply didn't find the right key with this one!
This is my first glimpse into Oyeyemi's work. I tend to start with short stories when approaching authors that I think will be up my alley but I'd like a taster of before digging in. I have to say that above all else this book did something others have failed to do - restored my faith in magical realism. It's a genre I've not liked in the past due to the randomness of it all but it was my favourite thing about this book! I lost all sense of time, place and even world, and yet I loved it! The stories fit around interesting themes like keys and puppets and felt very modern, yet very old at the same time. The fairy tale references were indirect most of the time, but hidden in the foundations of each story and I liked stumbling across them every now and again. Many of the characters appeared in more than one story (something I didn't fully realise until much later) but I really liked this about them. I also LOVED the LGBT+ themes and different ethnicities found in this book. The stories were European based too so it was great not having an all-white cast.
The main problem came, as mentioned previously, at the end of each tale. They went beyond an 'ambiguous ending'. They were UNFINISHED. I didn't feel like I'd stopped at a place and had to work it all out. I felt like I was missing half the story, and it happened with basically all of them which was VERY frustrating. It was clearly a purposeful move, attempting to offer a glimpse into each world rather than the full picture, but I wanted more than I got. I feel I would definitely do better with Oyeyemi's full length novels because I would probably get everything I loved about her short stories combined with an actual ending I could make sense of.
This is my first glimpse into Oyeyemi's work. I tend to start with short stories when approaching authors that I think will be up my alley but I'd like a taster of before digging in. I have to say that above all else this book did something others have failed to do - restored my faith in magical realism. It's a genre I've not liked in the past due to the randomness of it all but it was my favourite thing about this book! I lost all sense of time, place and even world, and yet I loved it! The stories fit around interesting themes like keys and puppets and felt very modern, yet very old at the same time. The fairy tale references were indirect most of the time, but hidden in the foundations of each story and I liked stumbling across them every now and again. Many of the characters appeared in more than one story (something I didn't fully realise until much later) but I really liked this about them. I also LOVED the LGBT+ themes and different ethnicities found in this book. The stories were European based too so it was great not having an all-white cast.
The main problem came, as mentioned previously, at the end of each tale. They went beyond an 'ambiguous ending'. They were UNFINISHED. I didn't feel like I'd stopped at a place and had to work it all out. I felt like I was missing half the story, and it happened with basically all of them which was VERY frustrating. It was clearly a purposeful move, attempting to offer a glimpse into each world rather than the full picture, but I wanted more than I got. I feel I would definitely do better with Oyeyemi's full length novels because I would probably get everything I loved about her short stories combined with an actual ending I could make sense of.