Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I just finished What is not yours is not yours a collection of short stories by Helen Oyeyemi. It was interesting as the characters from each story showed up in other stories. She also used the idea of keys to link the stories together. For me the stories were a bit too strange and some ended abruptly. I was left unsatisfied.
Every single character Oyeyemi wrotes about, whether likable or unlikable, were very interesting to read about and I really like her writing style. All the short-stories end super abruptly and I’m interested to find out if her long-form story telling will work better for me!
I'm normally not a fan of short stories but these were great. The character development was incredible and made me want more.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately, I preferred Maureen Corrigan's Fresh Air review of this book, more than I enjoyed the short stories in this collection. But I recognized for the first time that while I love short stories in theory, that I generally don't find them satisfying and it is what skews my rating (I'm looking at you Haruki Murakami). I'd even describe them as similar writers - very creative, surreal and enjoyable but for some reason their short story isn't my bag.
Didn't quite finish (85%) but I enjoyed most of the stories! I loved the first one so much that I forgot this was a book of short stories and was a little sad when it ended. Many of these stories are weird, but in a good way! I'll have to check it out again from the library so I can read the last couple.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
I picked this up because I've heard good things about Helen Oyeyemi and I like keys, which link these stories together. I enjoyed bits and pieces of the stories, but only one of them really made sense as a whole to me. A lot of them jumped around and all of them ended abruptly. Every time a story ended, I said, "What?!" I just didn't get it or it wasn't me. Here I am again, wondering if I'm really this dumb.
The fine print: received ARC from Edelweiss.
The fine print: received ARC from Edelweiss.