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A review by nina_reads_books
Gunflower by Laura Jean McKay
3.0
Gunflower is a short story collection by Australian author Laura Jean McKay. Her previous book The Animals in That Country was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her writing in that book was something I enjoyed but the storyline of her novel didn’t quite gel with me. With this collection I felt much the same.
The collection is split into three parts – Birth, Life and Death. The stories were visceral and at times very confronting. Some of the stories had a real animal focus which I didn’t always vibe with. And there were some stories that I felt were just so weird and out there that I couldn’t work out what message was being conveyed. Others I enjoyed much more and in particular the titular story Gunflower which is about an all-female crewed ship which provides abortions in the safety of international waters. Another called Twenty Twenty (a very interesting take on the pandemic) made me suck in my breath with shock. I definitely felt like I enjoyed the stories that were more true to life than those that were fantastical and involved animals!
I can completely appreciate the quality of the author’s writing but I’m thinking that her books are just not 100% for me.
Thank you to @scribepub for my #gifted copy.
The collection is split into three parts – Birth, Life and Death. The stories were visceral and at times very confronting. Some of the stories had a real animal focus which I didn’t always vibe with. And there were some stories that I felt were just so weird and out there that I couldn’t work out what message was being conveyed. Others I enjoyed much more and in particular the titular story Gunflower which is about an all-female crewed ship which provides abortions in the safety of international waters. Another called Twenty Twenty (a very interesting take on the pandemic) made me suck in my breath with shock. I definitely felt like I enjoyed the stories that were more true to life than those that were fantastical and involved animals!
I can completely appreciate the quality of the author’s writing but I’m thinking that her books are just not 100% for me.
Thank you to @scribepub for my #gifted copy.