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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.
lisagray68's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book as a part of Library Thing's advance reader reviews. They send you a free book in exchange for a review! The book comes out on March 30th.
Robin Black is an exciting new writer, and I can't wait until she writes her first full length novel. Until then, you can wait patiently with her debut of short stories, "If I loved you, I would tell you this". The theme that ties all the stories together is a theme of transitions, and how we cope with them.
As you know, I'm not usually a fan of short stories (I know, I keep saying that and then I keep reading them!) but she kept me going on these. I'm a therapist, so the idea of exploring the theme of transitions is one I'm interested in. Great writing, and she really knows how to capture you and pull you in. I predict a great writing career for her!!
Robin Black is an exciting new writer, and I can't wait until she writes her first full length novel. Until then, you can wait patiently with her debut of short stories, "If I loved you, I would tell you this". The theme that ties all the stories together is a theme of transitions, and how we cope with them.
As you know, I'm not usually a fan of short stories (I know, I keep saying that and then I keep reading them!) but she kept me going on these. I'm a therapist, so the idea of exploring the theme of transitions is one I'm interested in. Great writing, and she really knows how to capture you and pull you in. I predict a great writing career for her!!
modknight's review against another edition
4.0
Won this book for participating in #Fridayreads on Twitter. :)
knitter22's review against another edition
3.0
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This illustrates some of the difficulties I have rating a volume of short stories. Some of these stories are very, very good (the title story) and some are very much less so.
9/5/2019 Even though I forgot that I had read this book when I checked it out, my impressions are much the same with some good stories and some less so. I think twice is just about the right number of times to read this book, so hopefully I'll remember this for the next time.
9/5/2019 Even though I forgot that I had read this book when I checked it out, my impressions are much the same with some good stories and some less so. I think twice is just about the right number of times to read this book, so hopefully I'll remember this for the next time.
exurbanis's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful short stories touching on real human emotions. Just lovely.
madetofly's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't even finish this book. I read about two and a half stories, and just got so bored that I just couldn't finish it.
blackedaix's review against another edition
3.0
A decent book about loss. As I'm sure with any collection of short stories, some are better than others. But altogether they give a feeling of hope within loss. I imagine that a book like this could really resonate with someone going through a specially troubling loss in life. For the rest of us it helps to recognize that we go through loss everyday and sometime we can be as much the victim as the guilty party. Something we all try to avoid admitting.
I was surprised that the book was about loss since I thought the title was meant for comedy, boy was I mistaken. But it turned out to be pleasantly well written. Each story accentuating a different look at loss.
I was surprised that the book was about loss since I thought the title was meant for comedy, boy was I mistaken. But it turned out to be pleasantly well written. Each story accentuating a different look at loss.
an_enthusiastic_reader's review against another edition
5.0
Each story in this collection has its own loss, its own secret heart. They do exactly what short stories should, distill a moment in time in the life of a character, present a situation in its crisis or its quiet contemplation. My favorite story turned out to be the one I thought I wouldn't like, about a woman who's had a stroke, who must contend with the choices of her forty-year-old daughter. While I was reading many of these Black stories, I wondered how she got into my head and knew what I've been thinking about all my life.
akmargie's review against another edition
2.0
And I'm done with literary fiction. Blame it on me, some deficiency makes me incapable of being moved or impressed by your prose. I also don't appreciate the false advertising. These stories weren't about "keen observations of the human condition" as the blurbs would lead you to believe. They were about dying spouses (mostly cancer), dead brothers, dead babies...shall I go on?
When I took a creative writing (read no genre, just literary fiction please) workshop my teacher said that protagonist should undergo some type of change in these stories, the subtler the better. Maybe that's why Black is getting mountains of praise. The stories are masterfully written, no doubt. But what happens (someone dies)? What changes(protag feels bad)?
I also feel there's a detachment, a resentment of the writer toward her characters. I didn't really care about any of the characters I met. \
Maddening, the whole thing was maddening. More annoyed at myself that I didn't abandon this the first time I tried. But noooo...everyone loved this book, even Oprah.
When I took a creative writing (read no genre, just literary fiction please) workshop my teacher said that protagonist should undergo some type of change in these stories, the subtler the better. Maybe that's why Black is getting mountains of praise. The stories are masterfully written, no doubt. But what happens (someone dies)? What changes(protag feels bad)?
I also feel there's a detachment, a resentment of the writer toward her characters. I didn't really care about any of the characters I met. \
Maddening, the whole thing was maddening. More annoyed at myself that I didn't abandon this the first time I tried. But noooo...everyone loved this book, even Oprah.