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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
3.5 I think. I’m very conflicted about this one.
It's unlike anything I've ever read - this is both good and bad. This book is not afraid to go the extra mile and I can respect that. I think it's something I'll return to and read again someday and probably find a new meaning.
It's unlike anything I've ever read - this is both good and bad. This book is not afraid to go the extra mile and I can respect that. I think it's something I'll return to and read again someday and probably find a new meaning.
Overall, I enjoyed this collection, some stories much more than others. To start, this wasn’t the easiest for me to get through. I couldn’t follow the audiobook because of Machado’s writing style. I definitely didn’t completely follow and understand everything that was going on in some of the books. She has a very non-concrete way of writing that can be difficult to follow. Especially Heinous was especially difficult to get through. It’s the longest of the short stories and easily the one I disliked the most. I thought the format was interesting, but it was hard to follow at times. I also have never seen Law and Order so there wasn’t any interest or pull for me there. And it was SO. LONG. It really dragged my rating down quite a bit. As for the things I did like: I liked the variety, and even if I get lost sometimes, Machado does have a beautiful way of writing. I especially liked the stories The Husband Stitch, Real Women Have Bodies, and Eight Bites. I thought that Machado did a good job with commentary on women in a new and unique way, even if that didn’t always stick for me. Also, (call me a prude) I do think think there was a lot of unnecessary sex, not bad, just felt unneeded at times.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God, I wanted to like this book so bad. I tried so stinkin' hard because it was a recommendation and despite how many times I wanted to DNF, I just paused and returned later. But :( Overwhelmingly meh
I feel like I was really into the initial short stories until that SVU???? creepy pasta??? (I admire the shamelessness of being an acclaimed author and casually inserting an AO3 fic, but goddamn it was so long and boring :( !) I think? I only enjoyed the "8 Bites" story after the halfway point, and even that I feel like didn't have an ending that it deserved.
I feel like it's a stretch to call this feminist lit, any time I was beginning to understand what the story was going for it was either fumbled and confusing or had an incredibly lukewarm ending.
Lukewarm, that's the word (I'm sorry)
I feel like I was really into the initial short stories until that SVU???? creepy pasta??? (I admire the shamelessness of being an acclaimed author and casually inserting an AO3 fic, but goddamn it was so long and boring :( !) I think? I only enjoyed the "8 Bites" story after the halfway point, and even that I feel like didn't have an ending that it deserved.
I feel like it's a stretch to call this feminist lit, any time I was beginning to understand what the story was going for it was either fumbled and confusing or had an incredibly lukewarm ending.
Lukewarm, that's the word (I'm sorry)
The first story was called “The Husband Stitch,” so I was immediately activated. ACTIVATED! Most of the short stories in this collection are speculative fiction, largely sapphic in nature with light horror elements. A fairly big one is actually about Stabler and Benson from SVU, and I’m so curious about the copyright aspect there. The writing is good—this author has been nominated for a ton of awards, deservedly so. I think this experimental style just doesn’t hit me like I wish it did. I really struggle with “weird fic.” I’d recommend this one to the right reader, but I’m not hot to hunt down more of this author’s work just yet.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
beautiful
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No