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lelex's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed these short stories. They were intense and a little dicey but so different in tone and topic both. My favorites were "You Can Find Love Now" and "The Animal Mummies Wish to Thank the Following."
"They were alive and together and God, whichever god was theirs, had shaken this day out like a crisp sheet for them to lie down on."
"High school showed up and she started smoking and watched every meteor shower for four years."
"The problem is not her affliction, which is painless and possible to remedy. The problem is that her body was once a house where her daughter lived. The problem is that the two of them lived there together."
"Will they become crocodiles or hens? Surely, when the egg mummies finally crack, it will be a god who has broken them."
"They were alive and together and God, whichever god was theirs, had shaken this day out like a crisp sheet for them to lie down on."
"High school showed up and she started smoking and watched every meteor shower for four years."
"The problem is not her affliction, which is painless and possible to remedy. The problem is that her body was once a house where her daughter lived. The problem is that the two of them lived there together."
"Will they become crocodiles or hens? Surely, when the egg mummies finally crack, it will be a god who has broken them."
buggy's review against another edition
Triggering content .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Body horror, Medical content, Torture, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
betweenbookends's review against another edition
3.0
‘Tragedy lends authority, especially with teenagers. There was a whole hierarchy: divorce, absent father, physical abuse, sexual abuse, dead father, dead mother, and then, at the top: dead both. It was the rarest loss, the most terrible, and the sufferer was like a precious gem, pressed by unthinkable forces into shimmering sadness, shimmering beauty.’
Ramona Ausubel’s newest collection of stories in Awayland, published on March 6th 2018, lends itself to be wholly original, whimsical, inventive and endearing. This is my second brush with the author's work having read and enjoyed her other collection, ‘A Guide to Being Born’ and I do think this is a stronger collection on the whole. Of course, there is the factor of recency to consider, however I did feel a majority of the stories were more fully realised in this collection compared to her previous.
The underlying thread that holds this collection together is the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Not in a depressing way, but in a rather melancholic, everyday, yet elusively off-beat way. What I really find commendable is that though there is an existing theme, every story feels so titular in its standing. The setting for each story is so widely diverse, ranging from Beirut, to small town America to the Caribbean islands, to Africa and even one in a simulated environment of Mars. Most of the stories felt realistic with a tinge of the otherworldly, fantastical in the most unexpected ways.
As is common in most collections, they were few stories that fell through the cracks for me, but the ones I enjoyed, I truly loved! Her writing style is so imaginative without being overwrought. My favourites from this collection were Fresh Water from the Sea, Template for a Proclamation to Save the Species, Remedy & The Animal Mummies Wish to Thank the Following.
Ramona Ausubel’s newest collection of stories in Awayland, published on March 6th 2018, lends itself to be wholly original, whimsical, inventive and endearing. This is my second brush with the author's work having read and enjoyed her other collection, ‘A Guide to Being Born’ and I do think this is a stronger collection on the whole. Of course, there is the factor of recency to consider, however I did feel a majority of the stories were more fully realised in this collection compared to her previous.
The underlying thread that holds this collection together is the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Not in a depressing way, but in a rather melancholic, everyday, yet elusively off-beat way. What I really find commendable is that though there is an existing theme, every story feels so titular in its standing. The setting for each story is so widely diverse, ranging from Beirut, to small town America to the Caribbean islands, to Africa and even one in a simulated environment of Mars. Most of the stories felt realistic with a tinge of the otherworldly, fantastical in the most unexpected ways.
As is common in most collections, they were few stories that fell through the cracks for me, but the ones I enjoyed, I truly loved! Her writing style is so imaginative without being overwrought. My favourites from this collection were Fresh Water from the Sea, Template for a Proclamation to Save the Species, Remedy & The Animal Mummies Wish to Thank the Following.
madelyn91's review against another edition
3.0
When it comes to Ramona Ausubel -- you either love her work or you hate it. I happened to love it and Awayland was hard to get through for me. Each story is imaginative but overall it fell flat, I enjoyed it and took a break between each story to reflect but the minute I closed the book I forgot everything I read.
If you like speculative fiction/ fantasy realism, check it out...if not, pass it up.
If you like speculative fiction/ fantasy realism, check it out...if not, pass it up.
hebeshebewebe's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
saguaros's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. I really enjoyed her previous collection, A Guide to Being Born, and was looking forward to reading this, unfortunately I did not connect as much to this one as the other one. There was something almost... unsettling about some of the stories, in ways I can't quite pinpoint. Not necessarily a bad thing, mind, but it was an uncomfortable sort of unsettling, vague spikes of existential anxiety--perhaps for the recurring themes of dying, of loss, but in a way that didn't quite enchant me, or moved me, or didn't get under my skin.
There is something also about so many impersonal characters (the woman, the man, the daughter, instead of names) that I think is supposed to feel universal but instead just leaves me kind of disconnected and uncaring instead. There was something beautiful in the language, but I couldn't quite let myself be moved by it.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed:
You Can't Find Love Now
Departure Lounge
Club Zeus
The Animal Mummies Wish to Thank the Following
Do No Save the Ferocious, Save the Tender
There is something also about so many impersonal characters (the woman, the man, the daughter, instead of names) that I think is supposed to feel universal but instead just leaves me kind of disconnected and uncaring instead. There was something beautiful in the language, but I couldn't quite let myself be moved by it.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed:
You Can't Find Love Now
Departure Lounge
Club Zeus
The Animal Mummies Wish to Thank the Following
Do No Save the Ferocious, Save the Tender
wiki765's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.25
htbaumtree's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I really wanted to like this book more than I did.
There are two or three good short stories here, my favorite of the lot being "Fresh Water From the Sea", but even the good ones don't really wow me so much provide a reprieve from the shakier ones. There's definitely an emphasis on pregnancy and motherhood that I wished had been advertised a bit more, it can be overwhelming if you aren't prepared for it. Overall the stories had decent bones and the writing style itself is good, but it just wasn't an enjoyable read for me. Hopefully others will have a better time with it than I did.
There are two or three good short stories here, my favorite of the lot being "Fresh Water From the Sea", but even the good ones don't really wow me so much provide a reprieve from the shakier ones. There's definitely an emphasis on pregnancy and motherhood that I wished had been advertised a bit more, it can be overwhelming if you aren't prepared for it. Overall the stories had decent bones and the writing style itself is good, but it just wasn't an enjoyable read for me. Hopefully others will have a better time with it than I did.