Reviews

This is the weirdest fucking thing! I don't know what to think of it. The story's about young girls at a boarding school, being trained in dance and physical movement in order to perform in some shady erotic play for the masses. Eventually they become adolescents and are made to leave the school and its theatre; they're basically ogled through the streets of a nearby town, and the novella ends abruptly, with no real idea of the future. The girls are completely ignorant of what's happening to them, but it must also be said that they all seem pretty happy with their weird, exploitative little lives. I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be a utopia or a dystopia, a feminist piece or a piece of fake feminism, and from the introduction it seems that this general bafflement is a fairly common reaction.

Apparently it's a symbolist work. I have no idea what that means. That it's incomprehensible, maybe? It manages to be both interesting and off-putting at once, anyway, and is strangely compelling because of it.

sophiambegum's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.5

iliveinletters's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

eodo1234's review against another edition

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3.0

certainly an interesting read, and i’d like to eventually read the other two short stories in it. a critique on the over sexualization and horrible standards young girls are held to in society. exacerbated, obviously, but still a critique on how we train girls to act and view themselves to a certain standard.

kyeruhh's review

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I didn’t not like it but it was weird. This is the kind of book one should read with someone or as part of a book club or something, since I feel the book itself is short and not much happens but definitely would bring about a lot of discussion.

Content Warnings

sprossa's review

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challenging reflective medium-paced

4.5

I can’t even think of the words to describe this book? I feel like it will stick with me for a long time. The passage at the very end of mine-haha truly sticks and is constantly running through my mind

atlas_of_the_stars's review

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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