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darnishabee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Rape
literaryfeline's review against another edition
4.0
There is beauty in words. Beauty in a story. And beauty in the characters that fill those stories. Tiphanie Yanique captures all of that in this collection of stories and a novella, steeped in culture and life.
The characters are the main thrust of each of Tiphanie Yanique's stories. And with many of them, the endings gave me pause. The stories may not be wrapped up with a neat little ribbon at the end, but they certainly offer one food for thought. Yanique's writing style is lyrical, and, while several of the stories are straight forward, with others she takes creative license. I was reminded of how much of an art writing can be. I found myself wanting to take my time with each story, lingering over the words and taking in the experience. For each story truly is its own experience.
There was not one story in the collection I did not like. In fact, I'd come across one story, decide it was a favorite and then claim the next was a favorite too. This happened over and over again.
One of my favorites was "Street Man", about a drug dealer who falls for a straight girl. He is so focused on his own life and his own perception of their relationship, keeping the street out of his relationship with her, that he misses the fact that she may have a life and ideas of her own. There is also the story about a young woman who is sent to live in a leper colony, isolated from the rest of the world. She befriends a young man whose entire world is the island, and they both long to be free. I was moved by "The Bridge Stories: A Short Collection" which is a series of stories seemingly independent of one another but interconnected at their core. Another of my favorites was the novella, "The International Shop of Coffins", covering moments in the lives of three very different characters. The story begins the same in each case, and yet each story is unique but equally sad.
The collection is made up of eight stories all together. The stories are about love, despair, regret and longing. They are about dreams, both lost and hoped for. They are set mostly in the U.S. Virgin Islands, touching on several different cultures and lifestyles. This is one of those books that would make a great book club selection, if the group is willing to take a chance on a collection of stories.
The characters are the main thrust of each of Tiphanie Yanique's stories. And with many of them, the endings gave me pause. The stories may not be wrapped up with a neat little ribbon at the end, but they certainly offer one food for thought. Yanique's writing style is lyrical, and, while several of the stories are straight forward, with others she takes creative license. I was reminded of how much of an art writing can be. I found myself wanting to take my time with each story, lingering over the words and taking in the experience. For each story truly is its own experience.
There was not one story in the collection I did not like. In fact, I'd come across one story, decide it was a favorite and then claim the next was a favorite too. This happened over and over again.
One of my favorites was "Street Man", about a drug dealer who falls for a straight girl. He is so focused on his own life and his own perception of their relationship, keeping the street out of his relationship with her, that he misses the fact that she may have a life and ideas of her own. There is also the story about a young woman who is sent to live in a leper colony, isolated from the rest of the world. She befriends a young man whose entire world is the island, and they both long to be free. I was moved by "The Bridge Stories: A Short Collection" which is a series of stories seemingly independent of one another but interconnected at their core. Another of my favorites was the novella, "The International Shop of Coffins", covering moments in the lives of three very different characters. The story begins the same in each case, and yet each story is unique but equally sad.
The collection is made up of eight stories all together. The stories are about love, despair, regret and longing. They are about dreams, both lost and hoped for. They are set mostly in the U.S. Virgin Islands, touching on several different cultures and lifestyles. This is one of those books that would make a great book club selection, if the group is willing to take a chance on a collection of stories.
whatsbookinjenni's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
While these stories were not bad by any means, none of the stories really landed on me in a meaningful way. I did appreciate the themes of identity, home, and relationships, and I particularly enjoyed the stories that dealt with members of the Caribbean diaspora living abroad ("Where Tourists Don't Go" was probably my favorite of the collection).
maxwelldunn's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This collection of short stories and two novellas revolves around characters in the U.S. Virgin Islands. What I enjoyed about these tales were how they were modern day stories that read like folklore. She is attentive to sights, sounds, and tastes of the islands as well. They were very rich, and the characters were complex.
The title story was a great way to start the collection. But my favorite story was "The Saving Work." It had a great contrast between mothers and their children, jumping between the U.S. and the Virgin Islands. There were interesting gender dynamic as well as age differences.
Many of these stories deal with love and romantic relationships. The final novella "Kill the Rabbits" did a great job of intertwining narratives and dealing with racial tensions. It really leaves an ambiguous feeling of how to solve issues between races. However, I felt like the whole islanders trope was a bit over the top and read more like a caricature than a genuine commentary.
Overall, nothing completely blew me away about these stories. I'm happy I read them, but only 1 or 2 really stick out to me. The rest are not totally memorable.
This collection of short stories and two novellas revolves around characters in the U.S. Virgin Islands. What I enjoyed about these tales were how they were modern day stories that read like folklore. She is attentive to sights, sounds, and tastes of the islands as well. They were very rich, and the characters were complex.
The title story was a great way to start the collection. But my favorite story was "The Saving Work." It had a great contrast between mothers and their children, jumping between the U.S. and the Virgin Islands. There were interesting gender dynamic as well as age differences.
Many of these stories deal with love and romantic relationships. The final novella "Kill the Rabbits" did a great job of intertwining narratives and dealing with racial tensions. It really leaves an ambiguous feeling of how to solve issues between races. However, I felt like the whole islanders trope was a bit over the top and read more like a caricature than a genuine commentary.
Overall, nothing completely blew me away about these stories. I'm happy I read them, but only 1 or 2 really stick out to me. The rest are not totally memorable.
raethereviewer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
4.5
Read this for my Creative Writing class and ended up really enjoying it. The stories were so riveting and I enjoyed the way that many of them were interconnected. The various themes were explored in such an interesting way and I learned a lot about writing through reading this.
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