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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
3.0
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 Buchi’s girls.
My favorite stories are Windfalls, Glory, The future looks good, Wild and Buchi’s 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 haven’t 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).
“The Future Looks Good” rendered me speechless. “Light” had me almost in tears. “Windfalls” 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 I’m truly nitpicking, some stories felt a little flatter than others. But that’s about the only criticism I can muster.
Read it. I haven’t been so in love with a short story collection since EXHALATION, but I’m about to buy two physical copies of this: one to annotate and another to lend out.
rosiefpb's review against another edition
3.0
Very weird collection of short stories. No cohesion between them. Some normal life stories and some really random science fiction metaphors. Didn't like those ones very much but the others were OK I guess.