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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Found these stories somewhat amateur with the characters wearing their desperation so obviously that if you missed it there's always an intruding narrator or some contrived observer-character lurking a line away to restate the bleeding obvious. Richard Yates has covered this ground so slickly- the quiet tragedy and violence lurking underneath the mannered civility of urban yuppies, the "trapped" married-too-soon couples and families drifting in indifferent sprawling American metropolises who wake up one day to find themselves employment they don't want, kids they can't believe they've had, homes they can't believe they have to pay for, the thwarted American Dream if you will- that Ferris' admirable but failing attempts to retread it seven decades on made me yearn for Yates suicidal prose which had characters that spoke in ways I could imagine real despairing people whole and the all-too-obvious anxieties and desperations bled through without the author calling my attention to it again and again. Sadly for Ferris, a master has cast the same knowing eye over this landscape.
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
I didn't unilaterally love all of the stories, but overall I really enjoyed most of them.
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
As with most shirt story collections, my enjoyment of these stories varied. Some were quirky and enjoyable stories that had unusual premises that I was really interested in. Others were quite dull and a trudge to get through. Most centred around themes if living in a city and how that creates uneasy dynamics between different people. For the better stories this reminded me if Seinfeld at its best for the less good ones it was more like the stories that wouldny have made it out of the writers' room on Seinfeld.
I kept waiting for the stories to get better, the endings to make any sense to me, but they never did. Am I missing something profound?
The Breeze priča 10/10, ostalo baš prosek. Džošua ne piše loše, ali je nekako dosadno sve zajedno.
Oh sooooo deep wowowow. no this is some vapid shit, guy thinks he's tough cause he bludgeons bad news into short stories.
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was funny, weird, and over quickly. Nice
I received this in a Goodreads give away a while ago and am finally getting around to reading and reviewing. I kept putting this book off because I am not the biggest fan of short stories, but I wish I wouldn't have waited so long. This was a well written compilation of short stories that pulled me in and kept me reading. I liked the changes from story to story and am glad I gave this book a chance. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good, well written group of short stories.