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sofia_casanova's review
4.0
Every woman should read this. Mandy’s debut collection of short stories explores the darkness of being a woman, particularly a woman misplaced. It dives straight into the heart of violence and its veins that flow through the lives of women. Across these stories her prose is sharp and rhythmic, dancing along the lines of poetry; the powerful imagery across each story cleverly bleeds together to form one overarching narrative. It’s a narrative we’ve all heard before; these are stories we are familiar with, and it was brutal to read them in such a way. This collection is a visceral experience, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The women in these stories are mostly nameless, and Mandy is unflinching in her depiction of sexual violence, poverty, abortion, humiliation, and death. Of all the stories, “Drowning in Thick Air” is my favourite from the collection, and one that I felt imprint itself on my body. When you pick up Wild Fearless Chests, know that it is a scream of anger, of recognition, full of rage and love and the smallest fragment of hope. It’s a brilliant piece of literature for our times.
cooloolat's review
5.0
I would like to thank Mandy Beaumont, Hachette Australia and NetGalley for the ARC of Wild, Fearless Chests.
In a time when the culture of abuse and toxic masculinity is exposed as rife by a rising empowered movement, this collection of stories adds to the voices calling for social justice and cultural change. Change that will be aided in Australia by the influential work of people such as Jane Caro, Cash Savage, Clementine Ford and Mandy Beaumont.
The writing is crafted with skill and creativity, frequently unique with single word sentences and capitalization. The stories are powerful and affecting.
I highly recommend this collection; to be added to school reading lists and as compulsory reading for our politicians and judiciary.
In a time when the culture of abuse and toxic masculinity is exposed as rife by a rising empowered movement, this collection of stories adds to the voices calling for social justice and cultural change. Change that will be aided in Australia by the influential work of people such as Jane Caro, Cash Savage, Clementine Ford and Mandy Beaumont.
The writing is crafted with skill and creativity, frequently unique with single word sentences and capitalization. The stories are powerful and affecting.
I highly recommend this collection; to be added to school reading lists and as compulsory reading for our politicians and judiciary.
chiel's review
4.0
Several short stories about unheard women. And none of the stories are an easy read, no matter how nice the prose might be. It's sometimes cold, sometimes brutal, sometimes beautiful but always serves as a reminder about the ugliness in some peoples lives.
It's a book I'll have to let sink in for a bit.
It's a book I'll have to let sink in for a bit.
rockjonny's review
5.0
I took this book very slowly, one story per day, because I really wanted to savour it. I lost it a bit at the end though where I couldn't control myself and just had to GO WILD, I think the last 3 or 4 stories I read one after the other, I gobbled them up like a GREEDY LITTLE GOOSE, because I have poor impulse control but also because the stories are THAT GOOD.
There were stories in this collection that I liked more than others (3 were 100% perfect perfect PERFECT my favourites but I won't say which because you know, you should love all of your children (or someone else's children?) equally, but there were none that I didn't like.
It reminded me a bit of Roxanne Gay's Difficult Women, in a really good way. Where I found Difficult Women sometimes lagged, Wild Fearless Chests does not - it is unrelenting. Powerful, super contemporary, an important book that isn't OBSESSED with its own importance, I would recommend this book to a lot of people, maybe even some that I think might not exactly 'enjoy' it, just because I think they SHOULD read it anyway.
Mandy Beaumont's style has a musicality about it, there's a certain tempo to the writing which is more obvious in some stories (looking at you (with heart eye emojis), Bright Light and All Brilliance) and less obvious in others, but nevertheless present throughout. Musicality is not the right word, but I've been looking at synonyms and I can't find the right one. Also I discovered just now that I have been using the world patina in ENTIRELY THE WRONG WAY my WHOLE LIFE (it's something to do with metal!! WHO KNEW?!?!). Timbre? If there's a word to describe the way Patti Smith slips in and out of poetry, prose and verse with the ease of channel flipping on TV, let me know. GERMAN MAYBE?
I was lucky enough to snag this book in the Authors For Firies auction on twitter, and would happily spend $100 on it again.
I CAN'T WAIT to see what's coming next from Mandy Beaumont, so if she's reading this, GET CRACKING.
There were stories in this collection that I liked more than others (3 were 100% perfect perfect PERFECT my favourites but I won't say which because you know, you should love all of your children (or someone else's children?) equally, but there were none that I didn't like.
It reminded me a bit of Roxanne Gay's Difficult Women, in a really good way. Where I found Difficult Women sometimes lagged, Wild Fearless Chests does not - it is unrelenting. Powerful, super contemporary, an important book that isn't OBSESSED with its own importance, I would recommend this book to a lot of people, maybe even some that I think might not exactly 'enjoy' it, just because I think they SHOULD read it anyway.
Mandy Beaumont's style has a musicality about it, there's a certain tempo to the writing which is more obvious in some stories (looking at you (with heart eye emojis), Bright Light and All Brilliance) and less obvious in others, but nevertheless present throughout. Musicality is not the right word, but I've been looking at synonyms and I can't find the right one. Also I discovered just now that I have been using the world patina in ENTIRELY THE WRONG WAY my WHOLE LIFE (it's something to do with metal!! WHO KNEW?!?!). Timbre? If there's a word to describe the way Patti Smith slips in and out of poetry, prose and verse with the ease of channel flipping on TV, let me know. GERMAN MAYBE?
I was lucky enough to snag this book in the Authors For Firies auction on twitter, and would happily spend $100 on it again.
I CAN'T WAIT to see what's coming next from Mandy Beaumont, so if she's reading this, GET CRACKING.
emilymaree10's review
3.0
There were some short stories that I loved and felt connected to and then there were others that I didn't fully grasp the meaning of and felt a slight discomfort towards.
This book was not quite what I was expecting it was going to be and therefore, it did not live up to the expectations I had for it.
This book was not quite what I was expecting it was going to be and therefore, it did not live up to the expectations I had for it.
earlgreybooks's review
3.0
This wasn't really what I was expecting from this. There were a couple really great stories, and then there were a whole bunch that were just kind of strange and not the sort of thing I like to read. They were quite confronting and some were just downright uncomfortable.
memily's review
4.0
A beautiful collection of short stories, laden with heartache and misplacement. Some a bit too smart for me. Others that feel like they’re about me. Drinking Makes Your Heart Ache More Than it Should and And They Wanted Us to Love Them got me good.
antisocialinfluencer's review
4.0
I’m not usually one for short stories but ‘Wild Fearless Chests’ was something else. It is compulsive, contradictory, challenging and credible. An accomplished collection full of striking, visceral and indelible stories about the serrated and painful edges of the human condition. I was so taken by many of the characters - their making and unmaking, their motivations, the mitigating circumstances of their pasts, their whole selves - I always wanted to know them better. In this collection, Beaumont leans into some thoroughly taxing topics and she pushed me far out of my comfort zone and into tough but illuminating perspectives, like the best writers do. (Think Nabokov in ‘Lolita’.) This slim volume is worthy of plump praise. Thank you to @hachetteaus for my #gifted review copy.
littlerah's review
4.0
Sometimes I go through all the books my friends have read and try to find ones that are going to work for me. This is one of them and I took to reading it for my thesis as well.
"She is quietened by his violence" (3).
This collection of short stories is shattering from its beginning. You read of diverse women and their experiences, their need to be heard and their harms and horrors. Beaumont has crafted something chilling and addictive in her writing, she leaves enough space for the reader to immerse themselves fully, to consider the life of each woman beyond the story. It's genius.
"Memory is wonderful like that, I think. It breaks up the world for us to keep being" (109).
Beaumont's poetic lines act as attempts to reclaim space, voice and memory. It is exactly this that I have been focused on in my 2020 studies and life. This is chilling and beautiful.
"She is quietened by his violence" (3).
This collection of short stories is shattering from its beginning. You read of diverse women and their experiences, their need to be heard and their harms and horrors. Beaumont has crafted something chilling and addictive in her writing, she leaves enough space for the reader to immerse themselves fully, to consider the life of each woman beyond the story. It's genius.
"Memory is wonderful like that, I think. It breaks up the world for us to keep being" (109).
Beaumont's poetic lines act as attempts to reclaim space, voice and memory. It is exactly this that I have been focused on in my 2020 studies and life. This is chilling and beautiful.
wtb_michael's review
4.0
Shorts about women - forgotten and ignored women, bold and difficult women, brutalised and not-quite-defeated women. Some of these stories felt a bit heavy-handed, but some hit me right in the guts - Bright Light and All Brilliance in particular is spectacular. It's an energetic and vivid collection, filled with anger and love for its characters.