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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Overall, I enjoyed this. I liked how even though it was a collection of short stories, they were all entwined, with characters appearing in more than one story and the recurring symbolism of keys, doors, puppets, etc. However, all of the stories were so chaotic and messy and half the time I was struggling to figure out what even was going on. The endings were all just so vague, abrupt, and not even really endings? There was no resolution and it felt like a bunch of nothingness that spiraled off into tangents. I only thoroughly enjoyed "Sorry" Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea and A Brief History of the Homely Wench Society. The rest were barely memorable.
adventurous
mysterious
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:
No
A magically written, beautifully lyrical book that I did not enjoy. If you’re into “contemporary fairy tales and fables” (such as Kelly Link) you’ll probably like the very talented Helen Oyeyemi. Alas, I don’t enjoy this genre. Fantastic title. Masterfully crafted.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Confusing but compelling
a wonderful short story collection about keys/doors. surprisingly enough i loved all of them a lot except one, this was great magical realism, filled with gay people and really immersive storytelling. great public transport read
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
At no point could I ever guess what was going to happen next and I loved it. Shout-out to the puppets fr
3.5. some stories are much much better than the others. i feel like it lost me more and more near the end
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
sad
Love Helen Oyeyemis writing but I realize short stories aren't really my thing, found it hard to get into such deep emotional moment without the context of a longer piece of writing.
challenging
slow-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