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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not my fave. All of the short stories were unrelated and yet also felt incomplete on their own. Not sure how much is meant to be symbolic but I think a lot of it went over my head 🤷🏻♀️
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Like the cover of the book, this collection of short stories is stunning. Each is unusual and set in different places in the world, yet they seamlessly constellate around similar issues in a very subtle way. This is not an in your face collection about feminism, and yet it is certainly a collection of stories that centres women and the subtle and not so subtle transgressions we encounter. Each story though focuses on strained relationships with friends, family and even the self. Haunting the background of the story Lizards is the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. In Second Wife we confront the gig economy and its risks to women. In the Cult of Mary we encounter old age and dreams. These were some of my favourites including Last Night, Slumberland, and Pitch. Honestly, after reading this collection of short stories I know I will pick up her other work and that one of these stories will definitely be reread by me in the near future.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
These stories are eerie, but not as substantive or meaningful as hoped
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fantastic collection, I loved these subtly strange stories of womanhood. My favourite was Volcano House, without a doubt.
While I do love this author’s work, I found this book didn’t quite GET THERE emotionally with the stories. Most of them had great set-ups and surreal, bizarre situations but the emotional follow-through wasn’t present—just as it seemed the piece would reach new emotional depths, the author pulls back and pivots to a new thought or new event, or simply ends the story. Also, every narrator had the exact same voice, which made the stories less impactful as a collection for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a moving, haunting, powerful collection of short stories. i liked best the disorganized nature of each story - they are rarely told chronologically, and take time to sink in - which adds greatly to the air of unease this collection conjures. i don't think i've read anything that made me feel quite like this level of haunted!!