Reviews

If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This: Stories by Robin Black

jolles's review against another edition

4.0

I don't usually review books, and this is the first time I think I'm doing it on Goodreads. Regardless, this collection of short stories is as good as place as any to add my voice to the choir of praise for Robin Black. Initially, I felt as though this collection got off to a slow start--the first couple of stories, while they flew by did not necessarily strike me with the same verve as the middle and ending stories. I felt as though Black found her stride with "Immortalizing John Parker" and while the ending of that particular story struck me as a little cheap, the prose was snappy and the plot came together with expedience. I find it imprudent to write about my particular favorites of most things because the reasons that a particular author's work might resonate with me might be the exact reason someone else hates it--overly sentimental, overwritten, what have you. With that being said, I think "Gaining Ground", "Pine", and "...Divorced, Beheaded, Survived" were the strongest out of the collection and therefore my favorites.

While each of these stories has its own unique dimensions and are all strong in their own ways, the common tie among them all seems to reverberate, however loosely around the idea of loss and the grief that does or does not ensue from it. Whether it be lost love, death, etc., it is the thrumming of this idea that runs under the pages and kept me reading. In a particular twist of irony, I had picked up this book in effort to afford myself the opportunity to read something lighter and perhaps more uplifting than my usual literary faire. Suffice it to say---none such luck, but this was worth it anyway.

julibug86's review against another edition

3.0

Very well written, but many if the stories were so depressing that I got to a point where I dreaded starting the next one and had to read something lighter in between.

marcieb's review against another edition

5.0

I longed to learn more about each of these characters, these vignettes of lives, because each was so real and craftfully written.

bbckprpl's review against another edition

3.0

Read & Reviewed for CBR6

http://cannonballread.com/2014/09/cringeworthy-media/

not_mike's review against another edition

5.0

Hardback.

What turned into a random library find for short stories turned into a collection I'll be looking over the years and re-reading again. Robin is a masterful storyteller of the short-story form, able to contain dramatic sequences and events in such a confined space.

Enjoyed "The Guide," "If I loved you," "Harriet Elliot," "A Country Where You Once lived," and "The History of the World," the most.

dilan11's review against another edition

emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved some of the stories, others not so much. Here's a breakdown of the stories.

"The Guide"

Well not exactly my subject matter - philandering husband, fear mongered wife, blind smart aleck daughter. But I am propelled forward so Black is definitely a good writer. 
None of the characters are likeable but I am okay with that.

The title story "If I love you, I would tell you this" is interesting, a bit chilling. Not sure I was impressed by it as I could have been.  In fact, I think the first story was better. Certainly not bored. Let me see where it all goes.

In the middle of "Immortalizing John Parker". I love this story. It is the first one with an interesting character, an older artist. The first two stories were with characters defined by their misery. This character is miserable too but she is something way more than that. Now I find myself in the hands of a very good writer.

Domestic dispute that's the key word for these stories.  Even in the story I loved about the artist, ultimately it was a domestic dispute. Not a bad thing just not my kind of thing.

Intrigued by "Harriett Elliott" even though I typically don't like adolescent narrators. It's too much about the voice and the attitude but this is different. This is about the other character in the story. Wise choice to use a diiferent narrator than Harriet. Sort of the same choice that was made in the Great Gatsby.

Black's domestic drama edges into the horrific like unexpected gruesome death. Not sure if that is needed. But at this point I am very clear that she writes very well. It is clear, concise, forward moving. Something that sounds easy but it's not.

"Gaining Ground" was not connected for me. 

"Tableau Vivant" is a 5 star story. Aging and older people are so under-represented in literature. This is done so well. I can feel the main character Jean and all of her losses.

I don't like "Pine" at all. The dialogue between mother and daughter feels cliched.

Not loving "A Country where You Once Lived" More domestic disputes, more entitled white people problems. "A Country Where You Once Lived"  initially was a story I thought might not have death but does indeed have it with a miscarriage. I guess someone told Black that everything must be dramatic but it's not true.

"Divorced, Beheaded, Survived" - Black does a good younger narrator but this story doesn't have to be so neatly drawn - I feel like she's bashing us over the head with meaning. 
Of course, there is no loss more final and horrible than the loss to death but that pathos must be earned. Throwing dead bodies (not literally but you know what I mean) into every story takes away its poignance.

Longest story "The History of the World" is very well written even if I don't much connect to it. Black with her clear language and expert plotting has the makings of a very good novelist. And despite my initial misgivings (here we go - another dramatic death story) it turns out to be a fantastic story. It raised my overall ranking to 3.75. Taking the character out of her misery to see another's miserty (the waitress Anna) and then to connect with that character was a relief both artistically and ethically. 

sarahbelwv's review against another edition

3.0

I'm not generally a fan of short story collections, but I've been finding myself increasingly drawn to a few with catchy titles. While I did enjoy several of the stories (most notably "Divorced, Beheaded, Survived"), I was frustrated over and over by their abrupt endings. Just as the story was getting good, just as I was really starting to care for the characters and getting interested in where things were going...the story was wrapped up prematurely and it was time to move on to the next.

madelyn32's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

ohhkatrina's review against another edition

4.0

I didn't love every story, but I liked a lot of them.

noodles123's review against another edition

3.0

Some of the stories I enjoyed, but as a whole just really struggled to get into the book and will myself to finish it. Stories were beautifully written but after a while, the themes are a bit repetitive and it was just too much misery. There's a limit to the amount of stories you can read about death, divorce and disability in a row.