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micah_celeste's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Very strange set of linked but not sequential short stories. Devastatingly beautiful & often somber. Tore through it in just 2 days.
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content
s4ufos's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book for an early creative writing class that focused on short stories. Like all assigned reading, there is a sense of obligation attached to it. However, despite this fact, I still really enjoyed reading it.
This book is a collection of short stories. Some are unusual, some are heart warming, and others just pull you in until the end. Either way, this was the first collection of short stories I’ve read by the same author and it was an enjoyable experience.
Would I read this entire book again? Probably not, but there are some stories I would go back to re-read.
This book is a collection of short stories. Some are unusual, some are heart warming, and others just pull you in until the end. Either way, this was the first collection of short stories I’ve read by the same author and it was an enjoyable experience.
Would I read this entire book again? Probably not, but there are some stories I would go back to re-read.
michellekmartin's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t know what took me so long to find Ramona Ausubel’s work. This collection of stories was dreamy, weird, sorrowful, and beautiful. I can’t recommend this enough to fans of Helen Oyeyemi’a work! Favorite stories included Fresh Water from the Sea, Departure Land, Remedy, and Club Zeus.
I was stopping every few pages to pull quotes, she just has such a way of describing things! I appreciated the overarching themes of motherhood, family, and leaving home that were woven throughout the stories.
I was stopping every few pages to pull quotes, she just has such a way of describing things! I appreciated the overarching themes of motherhood, family, and leaving home that were woven throughout the stories.
nyx_knight's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? No
2.75
alli_oopsie's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jenn_stark's review against another edition
5.0
oh my goodness, what a delightful collection of stories! each one touched me deeply without being overtly sentimental and having just the right amount of subtly fantastical elements woven in. absolutely hooked.
spiderfelt's review against another edition
5.0
Creative and engaging, this book was everything I love in a short story collection.
servemethesky's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Picked this up at an indie bookstore on a whim and absolutely loved it. Her writing is beautiful. I found myself underlining many of the sentences because they just hit so hard with wisdom and beauty. Motherhood and mother/daughter relationships are a big theme, along with feeling lost/like you don’t belong, love (and losing it or never having it). Gorgeous. Not every story hit just right, but if you’re the kind of person who likes feeling sad sometimes, there’s probably something for you here.