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dilan11's review
4.0
The range of stories both in content and tone is admirable. They are mostly in first person but each one has a unique voice. Definitely a writer to watch and this first collection is worth a second read.
On the second reading, the author's desire to be funny, to please, to impress came through. And she achieves her goal. The writing was funny and impressive. However, in the last story "Duet" she lets go of some of the pyrotechnics and reaches a poignancy that I missed in some of the other stories.
I definitely look forward to more from this writer. She is talented and this collection should have received more recognition than it did.
On the second reading, the author's desire to be funny, to please, to impress came through. And she achieves her goal. The writing was funny and impressive. However, in the last story "Duet" she lets go of some of the pyrotechnics and reaches a poignancy that I missed in some of the other stories.
I definitely look forward to more from this writer. She is talented and this collection should have received more recognition than it did.
tdstorm's review
3.0
Some clever premises underlie many of the stories in Richter's collection. And a few of them, like "The Land of Pain," and "Twin Study" were pretty effective in their weaving a net of themes. But many of these stories left me a bit cold. It was often difficult to identify with or sympathize with Richter's characters. In fact, they're often caricatures rather than characters. "My Mother the Rock Star" is perhaps the best example. The mother is exactly what you'd expect: good-looking, entitled, insensitive to the needs of her daughter--it's all pretty predictable. I wouldn't mind if at the very least the daughter had some nice character complexity or even if nobody had character complexity but the plot itself were (like a fairy tale, which often has thin characterization) more compelling.
Richter doesn't take herself too seriously, though. And that's nice. She's playful with her storytelling, and if her characters are sometimes too cliche, her premises certainly aren't. Nor does she ever get too cute or sentimental.
Richter doesn't take herself too seriously, though. And that's nice. She's playful with her storytelling, and if her characters are sometimes too cliche, her premises certainly aren't. Nor does she ever get too cute or sentimental.
jodiwilldare's review
5.0
If I were independently wealthy I would buy hundreds of copies of Stacey Richter’s short story collection Twin Study so that I could pass them out to people who claim to not like short stories or not to read them.
“Here,” I would say. “Read this and then tell me how you don’t like short stories.” I am convinced this collection would win them over.
Read the rest on MN Reads.
“Here,” I would say. “Read this and then tell me how you don’t like short stories.” I am convinced this collection would win them over.
Read the rest on MN Reads.
trin's review
5.0
I loved Richter's first short story collection, [book: My Date With Satan], and this, her second, did not disappoint. Richter has an amazing ability to take strange ideas and make them seem normal, or to take seemingly normal concepts and make them strange. I loved the title story, about twins resolute in their non-inter-changeableness, and all the others have something quirky or fun or surprising to recommend them. (And then there was the one that FREAKED ME THE FUCK OUT.) I am now a full-out Stacey Richter devotee; I can't wait to see what she does next. (I wish she'd write a novel.)
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