Scan barcode
trin's review against another edition
2.0
These short stories suffer from being rather unsubtle and predictable: almost all of them end with an anvilicious “twist” or “punchline”—in fact, two of them end with the exact same “did you see what I did there?” move. (The horribly shallow subject of the tale—is actually a child! What a sad commentary on our times! *nods solemnly*) There are some interesting ideas or starts of ideas in here, and Harris is certainly a competent and at times quite evocative writer, but the repetitive “buh-dum-ching!” pattern of the endings of almost all these stories—and a weird, unfinished, this-is-stopping-just-as-it’s-getting-interesting aspect to some of the others—really didn’t work for me. Harris says in her introduction that she has a harder time with short fiction than with novels; I empathize, but I shouldn’t be able to see it on the page.
ericathrone's review against another edition
2.0
Truthfully, these are not stories. They are vignettes, usually ending in a juvenile twist of sorts. Amusing to some but lacking for me. I wanted more, some sort of resolution, out of most of these but instead was served either a lack of conflict resolution or a lack of conflict altogether. So there a few fine nice vignettes, petite gems in the rough. In general, this wasn't worth my time.
saroz162's review against another edition
3.0
I've enjoyed Joanne Harris' novels for about ten years; she's one of just a handful of female novelists I follow. Her ability to bring a location and an atmosphere to life for the reader is almost unparalleled, but those are qualities that are highlighted by the long form of the novel. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get with her short stories, and...well, I think my hesitation was justified.
It's not that the stories are in any way *bad.* They're not. Several of them simply feel very bitty. In a couple of cases, this is intentional; something like "Any Girl Can Be a CandyKiss Girl!" is intentionally tiny because it revolves around a single joke. Others, though, simply pull out the "gotcha" too far. I dare any experienced reader not to predict the general thrust of "The Ugly Sister," "Al and Christine's World of Leather" or "Last Train to Dogtown" within a couple of pages. It's not that they're written poorly, but they're predictable, and Harris doesn't get the length she needs to make the journey feel worthwhile regardless.
The best stories are, frankly, longer, and allow Harris to paint a picture through first-person perspective. "Gastronomicon" is just as simple, really, as some of the other stories mentioned, but it tickles the fancy a little bit more just through the sheer naivete of the narrator. Even better is "Class of '81," a quirky class reunion story, and best of all is "Breakfast at Tesco's," which finds a lover of old movies trapped as a bystander in a modern-day situation. Even "The Little Mermaid," which wears its fairy-tale-update aspect right there on its sleeve, is made more powerful through Harris' use of first person.
It's not that the stories are in any way *bad.* They're not. Several of them simply feel very bitty. In a couple of cases, this is intentional; something like "Any Girl Can Be a CandyKiss Girl!" is intentionally tiny because it revolves around a single joke. Others, though, simply pull out the "gotcha" too far. I dare any experienced reader not to predict the general thrust of "The Ugly Sister," "Al and Christine's World of Leather" or "Last Train to Dogtown" within a couple of pages. It's not that they're written poorly, but they're predictable, and Harris doesn't get the length she needs to make the journey feel worthwhile regardless.
The best stories are, frankly, longer, and allow Harris to paint a picture through first-person perspective. "Gastronomicon" is just as simple, really, as some of the other stories mentioned, but it tickles the fancy a little bit more just through the sheer naivete of the narrator. Even better is "Class of '81," a quirky class reunion story, and best of all is "Breakfast at Tesco's," which finds a lover of old movies trapped as a bystander in a modern-day situation. Even "The Little Mermaid," which wears its fairy-tale-update aspect right there on its sleeve, is made more powerful through Harris' use of first person.
jenmcmaynes's review against another edition
3.0
Easy to read, but the "twists" in almost of all of the stories were predictable. I don't think short stories are Harris' forte. I did enjoy the story about the housewife accidentally cooking up more than she bargained for, though!
lurdes_oliveira's review
1.0
Dnf…
This is very boring… Joanne Harris is an accomplished writer, but this is just a bunch of mediocre stories to make money at the expense of the author's name…
This is very boring… Joanne Harris is an accomplished writer, but this is just a bunch of mediocre stories to make money at the expense of the author's name…
moonpie's review against another edition
3.0
I was really looking forward to Jigs & Reels because I love short stories and I have really enjoyed what I've read of Harris's work. She has a way with words that makes me want to read more.
I did love a couple of the stories in this collection, but mostly they were just . . . okay. Harris's writing makes up for a lot, but the constant use of "gotcha!" twists led to me trying to guess what the final reveal would be, instead of enjoying the stories themselves.
I did love a couple of the stories in this collection, but mostly they were just . . . okay. Harris's writing makes up for a lot, but the constant use of "gotcha!" twists led to me trying to guess what the final reveal would be, instead of enjoying the stories themselves.
eevie_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, I liked this collection. I don't have much to say about it, though. I really enjoyed Joanne's commentary at the beginning of each story and the interview at the end of the book.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
"Take your partners, please. Suburban witches, defiant old ladies, ageing monsters, suicidal Lottery winners, wolf men, dolphin women and middle-aged manufacturers of erotic leatherwear. In these twenty-two short stories from the author of HOLY FOOLS and FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE, the miraculous goes hand-in-hand with the mundane, the sour with the sweet, and the beautiful, the grotesque, the seductive and the disturbing are never more than one step away." (From Amazon)
A good collection of short stories.
"Take your partners, please. Suburban witches, defiant old ladies, ageing monsters, suicidal Lottery winners, wolf men, dolphin women and middle-aged manufacturers of erotic leatherwear. In these twenty-two short stories from the author of HOLY FOOLS and FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE, the miraculous goes hand-in-hand with the mundane, the sour with the sweet, and the beautiful, the grotesque, the seductive and the disturbing are never more than one step away." (From Amazon)
A good collection of short stories.
booksforbrooks's review against another edition
2.0
Short stories aren't something I'm normally drawn to, however I have read some excellent collections in the past and thought I'd give this one a try.
There were two or three stories in this that I really enjoyed. There were two or three that I hated. The rest were somewhere in the middle, most of them somewhere along the lines of "meh". Many left me with the sense that something was missing, my most frequent thought upon finishing a story was "um... what?" and I kept frantically reading to try and find more of those rare gems that I did enjoy.
I would give this 2.5 stars if I could, because the stories are well written and as I said, there are some true gems in here. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to score it a 3, as overall I found the vast majority of the stories highly forgetable.
There were two or three stories in this that I really enjoyed. There were two or three that I hated. The rest were somewhere in the middle, most of them somewhere along the lines of "meh". Many left me with the sense that something was missing, my most frequent thought upon finishing a story was "um... what?" and I kept frantically reading to try and find more of those rare gems that I did enjoy.
I would give this 2.5 stars if I could, because the stories are well written and as I said, there are some true gems in here. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to score it a 3, as overall I found the vast majority of the stories highly forgetable.