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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories about women who do weird or difficult things - some of them are downright bizarre and some are more recognizable, but the writing is vivid and the stories are memorable.
A few less-than-wonderful stories, but mainly a terrific collection of off-beat characters and situations.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.*
A series of darkly themed short stories, I Hold A Wolf by the Ears is an eerie look at the creative mind of Laura van den Berg. Reminiscent of Gillian Flynn's short stories or Edgar Allan Poe, I recommend this series to fans of short stories and dark fiction.
*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
A series of darkly themed short stories, I Hold A Wolf by the Ears is an eerie look at the creative mind of Laura van den Berg. Reminiscent of Gillian Flynn's short stories or Edgar Allan Poe, I recommend this series to fans of short stories and dark fiction.
*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Very well written and interesting stories. Weird ones too. Enjoy!
one thing i’ve learned about reviewing books awhile after finishing them is allowing time to process is so enlightening. i would have easily given this 4 stars when i first read it but now i’m struggling to remember a single story in its entirety. that’s not necessarily a bad thing because short stories are easy to revisit. i’m going to leave this at a 3.5 star for now and maybe it’ll go up if i choose to re-read. however, i remember really loving some of these when i listened to them in the moment & would recommend if the synopsis is interesting to you!
The story titles don't do much for my recall, so what follows is really a string of reminders for the future me who will comb through this a second time. No need for you to keep reading this review when you could instead be reading this excellent collection itself.
"Last Night": Woman looks back on her last night in a mental institution, when she and two friends snuck out.
"Slumberland": Creepy photographer, neighbor who weeps on the phone for pay.
"Hill of Hell": Woman loses baby, remarries, has baby, keeps first baby a secret, and struggles with motherhood throughout her daughter's life.
"The Pitch": Childhood picture shows secret brother in a tree behind the main character's husband. He denies the brother's existence and slowly comes back to honesty.
"Lizards": Husband pushes Roofie La Croix on his wife to mellow her during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.
Title Story: Sister "replaces" sister at a conference in Italy.
"Volcano House": Maybe the best? Time-hopping between the present (one sister in a coma, the other supporting her husband through it) and the twin sisters' trip to Iceland.
"Last Night": Woman looks back on her last night in a mental institution, when she and two friends snuck out.
"Slumberland": Creepy photographer, neighbor who weeps on the phone for pay.
"Hill of Hell": Woman loses baby, remarries, has baby, keeps first baby a secret, and struggles with motherhood throughout her daughter's life.
"The Pitch": Childhood picture shows secret brother in a tree behind the main character's husband. He denies the brother's existence and slowly comes back to honesty.
"Lizards": Husband pushes Roofie La Croix on his wife to mellow her during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.
Title Story: Sister "replaces" sister at a conference in Italy.
"Volcano House": Maybe the best? Time-hopping between the present (one sister in a coma, the other supporting her husband through it) and the twin sisters' trip to Iceland.
STORY 1: LAST NIGHT — 4/5
STORY 2: SLUMBERLAND — 3/5
STORY 3: HILL OF HELL — 5/5
STORY 4: CULT OF MARY — 4/5
STORY 5: LIZARDS — 4/5
STORY 6: THE PITCH — 5/5
STORY 7: VOLCANO HOUSE — 4/5
STORY 8: FRIENDS — 5/5
STORY 9: KAROLINA — 5/5
STORY 10: YOUR SECOND WIFE — 3/5
STORY 11: I HOLD A WOLF BY THE EARS — 4/5
STORY 2: SLUMBERLAND — 3/5
STORY 3: HILL OF HELL — 5/5
STORY 4: CULT OF MARY — 4/5
STORY 5: LIZARDS — 4/5
STORY 6: THE PITCH — 5/5
STORY 7: VOLCANO HOUSE — 4/5
STORY 8: FRIENDS — 5/5
STORY 9: KAROLINA — 5/5
STORY 10: YOUR SECOND WIFE — 3/5
STORY 11: I HOLD A WOLF BY THE EARS — 4/5
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Neither dull nor exciting, neither innovative nor unoriginal, this strange - often vague, always intriguing - set of short stories left me scratching my head just about as often as it left me wishing the tale I'd just finished went on for another ten or twenty pages. Not the sort of thing I usually read, but certainly not a regret.