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maggiestraveledbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
๐What It Means When a Man Falls From The Sky
โ๐ป Lesley Nneka Arimah
โ๏ธ Short Stories; Literary Fiction
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
โ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ, ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ง๐. ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ก๐ซ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ.โ
Wow. Iโm not sure Iโve ever read a book like this one.
Overview:
โขNon Sequitur Short Stories
โขNigerian Women POVs
โขFamilial Relationships
โขMagical Realism
โขEvocative Prose
๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป, ๐ต๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ.
Following a different woman in each story, the author reveals an intimate look into the lives and relationships of Nigerian women, both in their home country and abroad. The twelve short stories portray wildly different experiences and emotions, all delivered in a visceral and poignant manner.
Itโs somewhat challenging to review this collection because each of the stories is so individual, so much that itโs hard to believe (and therefore doubly impressive) that the same author wrote them all.
While I definitely favored some stories over others, they all had a sense of immediacy and rawness that kept me captivated.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating read in short story format.
โจ Read via Libby โจ
Here are a few quotes/passages that had my heart and soul and mind reeling:
Story: Second Chances
โ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐.โ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฉ. ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ช๐ฅ. ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ข ๐โ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ก๐ก๐๐, ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ข ๐โ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ก๐๐ฃ, ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง.
Story: What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky
๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐ง๐ค๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐ข ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ช๐จ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐โ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐๐, ๐๐ก๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง. ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฉ, ๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ข. ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐ข๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฉ.
Story: Redemption
โ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ฉ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฉ.โ
โ๐๐๐ง๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ.โ
Moderate: Gun violence, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault
erikasmindfulshelf's review against another edition
4.0
You know a short story collection is great when you plan on reading one story and end up reading the entire book. Loved it!
_pauline's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
booksxnaps's review against another edition
4.0
Last book of the year for me! Whoop! I really enjoyed this book. Some of the stories were bleh to me but overall it was a good read.
My favorite stories are Windfalls, Glory, The future looks good, Wild and Buchiโs girls.
My favorite stories are Windfalls, Glory, The future looks good, Wild and Buchiโs girls.
cheerbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
If you don't yet know about the LeVar Burton podcast, "LeVar Burton Reads" let me have the distinct pleasure of being the one to tell you about it. LeVar Burton, he of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: TNG reads you short stories. AND IT IS THE BEST THING EVER. He is an amazing reading and storyteller and just brings a big ol' story to my face. Each episode is 45 minutes to about an hour, and he reads you the story and at the end, talks a little about it.
So, the reason I'm mentioning it, other then the inherent awesomeness, is because I discovered this brilliant short story collection as a result of listening to the podcast. He read the titular story, "What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky" and it was an incredible gem of speculative fiction, so I was excited to pick up the collection: I was not disappointed.
The title story is a gripping one, set in a world where we have been able to use mathematics to advance humanity in fantastic ways. There are people with the talent to calculate grief and take it away, for those that can afford it of course. In addition, we are able to use mathematics to calculate the trajectory of human flight. So, the story is about when one of these flights goes wrong. Every story isn't as speculative as this one, she covers a wide depth of topics and is an impeccable writer: every word is essential and poignant.
I also enjoyed this collection as an audiobook, which was neat as audio was how I began my journey. The narrator was outstanding and really brought distinct voices to each character and tale. My only issue with the format, which isn't a reflection of the author, is that some of the stories stopped in the middle of the audio file, so it was hard to start and stop. For that reason, I might have enjoyed reading this volume instead.
So, the reason I'm mentioning it, other then the inherent awesomeness, is because I discovered this brilliant short story collection as a result of listening to the podcast. He read the titular story, "What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky" and it was an incredible gem of speculative fiction, so I was excited to pick up the collection: I was not disappointed.
The title story is a gripping one, set in a world where we have been able to use mathematics to advance humanity in fantastic ways. There are people with the talent to calculate grief and take it away, for those that can afford it of course. In addition, we are able to use mathematics to calculate the trajectory of human flight. So, the story is about when one of these flights goes wrong. Every story isn't as speculative as this one, she covers a wide depth of topics and is an impeccable writer: every word is essential and poignant.
I also enjoyed this collection as an audiobook, which was neat as audio was how I began my journey. The narrator was outstanding and really brought distinct voices to each character and tale. My only issue with the format, which isn't a reflection of the author, is that some of the stories stopped in the middle of the audio file, so it was hard to start and stop. For that reason, I might have enjoyed reading this volume instead.
fowvee4's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Loved this book and the stories, the diversity of the stories in terms of topic, theme, people, but centring on the stories of women and the diaspora.
bmnayr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This collection of short stories came on my radar as a result of Levar Burton Reads. (podcast) A wide swath of genre is covered in a relatively short time. Fantasy and fiction and mythology and biography all jumbled together. Really fun and inspiring.
_chaoticbooknook's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The long and short of it is - read this book.
I havenโt had such visceral reactions while reading a book in a long, long time. So much so that I looked up buying the book outright after the first two stories (literally 10% in).
โThe Future Looks Goodโ rendered me speechless. โLightโ had me almost in tears. โWindfallsโ made my heart ache. I could go on and on. Almost every story left me slackjawed at the end.
Arimah gives us a lens to explore intergenerational trauma, family relationships, first generation immigrant tensions while allowing us to glimpse and better understand the Nigerian experience. Each story follows a female POV. A couple featured elements of magical realism, but otherwise they felt very real and very fraught in complicated ways.
This is a short collection of short stories, and I am in awe of how Arimah consistently emotionally reels us in with her quiet, sparse yet evocative prose. I felt that the stories centering on mother-daughter relationships were particular highlights for me.
If Iโm truly nitpicking, some stories felt a little flatter than others. But thatโs about the only criticism I can muster.
Read it. I havenโt been so in love with a short story collection since EXHALATION, but Iโm about to buy two physical copies of this: one to annotate and another to lend out.