Reviews

Your Duck Is My Duck by Deborah Eisenberg

sausome's review against another edition

1.0

Unfortunately, this short story collection fell flat for me. There was one single story I thought was okay - "Merge." But the others just didn't connect for me. I think part of the issue was the length. A short story that is too long causes me to lose interest fairly quickly - this book-length volume only has 6 stories! They felt more like pieces of novellas than actual stories. Disappointing.

bidoofaloof's review against another edition

5.0

Is it possible for a short story collection to be perfect?

cwalsh's review against another edition

4.0

I didn't love all of these stories, but I truly appreciated each one. There's a lot of variety in this collection, but each piece examines themes of privilege, memory, ethics, and heartbreak in a fresh way.

These stories are a bit on the long side (lookin' at you, Merge), almost novella length, but Eisenberg's ability to construct fulfilling characters with her subtly political, weird, and quirky style is unparalleled.

Favorites: Your Duck is My Duck, Taj Mahal, and Merge.

zellm's review against another edition

2.0

For some reason, these didn't work for me. I didn't feel connected to the characters or drawn into the stories. I enjoyed the first story but felt it went downhill from there.

laurenexploresbooks's review against another edition

4.0

This work included well crafted and engaging short stories. I found myself wanting more in several of the stories. Overall I appreciated this collection and the concepts and writing,

brettduquette's review

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

laurynreads's review against another edition

3.0

It was fine? I still like The Third Tower, which I'd read before in one of the many best short stories of 2019 collections, and Taj Mahal the best.

thecatwhowalksbyhimself's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I enjoyed parts of this but I found a lot of it a little tedious. The overwhelming impression is that the author is too much in love with her own prose. A lot of the text seemed to be less about conveying the scene or the characters and more about going "Look what a pretty sentence I made; look at the quirky metaphors and the syncopated rhythm".  I may have enjoyed it more if I read it myself rather than listening to the audiobook, since the very sloooow reading pace, with lots of artificial pauses to emphasize the writing, didn't help at all. I enjoy lyrical writing and am all for being playful with language, but in this case it seemed more like hard work than fun. That said, I often struggle to get into short stories, so take my opinion with a pinch of salt.

tevreads's review against another edition

4.0

Deborah Eisenberg is a master of her craft. I was amazed by how layered and intricate each story was, characters so complex and developed in such a short span of time.

These stories achieve depth and meaning which many authors spend a whole novel to achieve, Cross Off and Move On & The Third Tower were two stand outs for me in this collection, both ones I'll be coming back to. A clear choice for the NYT Notable Books of 2018.

starbuck2233's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0