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henrymarlene's review against another edition
3.0
Lessons from a pandemic: don't seek out to read books set in a time that seems to resemble what's happening at the very present time that you are reading that said book. That said, 'Things we didn't see coming' by Steven Amsterdam is a short book (174 pages) of shorter stories, connected by the main character, traversing a period of time from his childhood to adulthood all the while things are going on in the world that don't seem real (hmm just like now), possibly happening now or in a not-too-distant future. The writing is so sharp and precise. You cannot hide from the realness of the world crumbling away before you. The images painted in the story are just as stark. The blood splatter on the tent. The grandparents in the back seat of the car. Opening the box of clothes, left years earlier. The author captures the strangeness of a very local dystopia, the fact that humans will still be humans (good, bad, rude, arrogant, selfish, loving), things will occur that will never make sense, and never be the same again.
leighbeevee's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was a clever alternate take on what could've happened after "the Y2K problem." Some genuinely scary and not far-fetched visions of the future here. The rain chapter really got me.
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
2.0
It's a lighter post(sort of)-apocalypse.
There are some interesting elements to the book, for sure. The style of having a series of short stories that take us through the narrator's life allow us to see the re-crumbled society, some of the middle, and then the end.
There are some really good scenes in here, but if you're looking for a sort of action-packed apocalypse/survival thing, this isn't your best bet.
The two stars are only two because the book went into a bit of a romance thing that didn't really do a whole lot for me towards the middle. That's me, I guess. It's an interesting idea to consider that people will still be in love and what not during the apocalypse, but the somewhat detached voice, which makes sense as that's the character's survival tactic, doesn't mesh all that well with the romantic portions for me.
Ultimately, it's not bad and pretty short at 199 page, which is a plus in my book. If you are reading, at least get up through the story with the main chaacter's horse running away. If you're not feeling it after that, I say put it down.
There are some interesting elements to the book, for sure. The style of having a series of short stories that take us through the narrator's life allow us to see the re-crumbled society, some of the middle, and then the end.
There are some really good scenes in here, but if you're looking for a sort of action-packed apocalypse/survival thing, this isn't your best bet.
The two stars are only two because the book went into a bit of a romance thing that didn't really do a whole lot for me towards the middle. That's me, I guess. It's an interesting idea to consider that people will still be in love and what not during the apocalypse, but the somewhat detached voice, which makes sense as that's the character's survival tactic, doesn't mesh all that well with the romantic portions for me.
Ultimately, it's not bad and pretty short at 199 page, which is a plus in my book. If you are reading, at least get up through the story with the main chaacter's horse running away. If you're not feeling it after that, I say put it down.
emilyknott's review against another edition
2.0
how does vce english always find the most boring post apocalypse stories, also the time skips were so weird why did they need to be every chapter + none of the plots were ever properly fleshed out nor explained?????
reachant's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book I couldn't put down but I can't put my finger on why. It was very well told with simple language and there were some mind leaps because it kept jumping ahead in time and left me with questions about what had happened in between but overall it was a great book that left me with a feeling of hope for the survival of the species. Well worth a read and a short book too.
beentsy's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic story telling that will stick with me for a long time. A very interesting little book of moments in a life. Gorgeous.
romcm's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually like short stories, but these dystopian future tales, each set in the same universe, were exceptionally compelling.
lisa_berrones's review against another edition
2.0
I knew this wasn't a novel, but I guess I expected more connectedness from this series of related short stories. The best I can describe it is that it's like if you were watching a very long movie while tired and you kept falling asleep and missing big chunks, you get the idea, and see the progressions, but you miss something. And while some people consider the fact that you miss something and still see this man's life pan out, I just felt like I missed something. Although it must not have bothered me too much because I read this in an afternoon. Or maybe my quick reading of it was part of the problem...