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joemowens 's review for:
Watering Heaven
by Peter Tieryas
"Reader's Digest" version of my review: [b:Watering Heaven|16054234|Watering Heaven|Peter Tieryas Liu|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348980175s/16054234.jpg|21839124] is simply and unquestionably one of the best books to come out in 2012! I cannot stress this enough.
I've been fumbling for days now, searching for the exact right words to describe this book. I'd started writing my review even before I finished the book. So many stories stood out that it became hard to pick which ones I could claim as my favorite. Even that word—"favorite"—all but loses its meaning when you come across such a wonderful collection.
One of the elements of Liu’s collection I enjoyed most was the way he elegantly layered in different myths with his modern stories where the protagonist would ultimately learn something. Beyond that, Liu has a way of tying the myths and stories together often with incredible single lines. They’re like a punch to the solar plexus when you see what he’s done.
“I wanted something so badly, I tried to destroy it when I couldn’t have it.”
“Moths don’t eat, you know? They’re born, they transform, they fuck, then they die.”
“Unfortunately, my essence too was just a shard, a sublimation of everything I’d wanted. . . . Death was the normal end for everyone: there, and only there, would my search for normalcy end.”
These three quotes are from three different stories, but they share one commonality: they guide the reader toward what’s really important from the story. They help the reader as well as the protagonist take something away.
Some of these stories demanded that I put the book down and let the impact of the language sink in. For other people, the book can be read in a couple sittings, but for me, I had to process each story on its own. I felt like it’d be a disservice not to give each one individual attention.
Therein lies one of the other elements I enjoyed most: the way each story stands out on its own, yet feels perfectly selected for inclusion in this collection. There are recurring characters—Larry Chao might be the most memorable—as well as recurring themes, though never do they feel rehashed.
Superlatives run thin at this point in some reviews. I can’t recommend the book enough. It’s got an incredibly tender, human element that is missing from so much of today’s literature, which is really some of the highest praise I can give a book.
My hat is off to Peter Tieryas Liu—chapeau!
I've been fumbling for days now, searching for the exact right words to describe this book. I'd started writing my review even before I finished the book. So many stories stood out that it became hard to pick which ones I could claim as my favorite. Even that word—"favorite"—all but loses its meaning when you come across such a wonderful collection.
One of the elements of Liu’s collection I enjoyed most was the way he elegantly layered in different myths with his modern stories where the protagonist would ultimately learn something. Beyond that, Liu has a way of tying the myths and stories together often with incredible single lines. They’re like a punch to the solar plexus when you see what he’s done.
“I wanted something so badly, I tried to destroy it when I couldn’t have it.”
“Moths don’t eat, you know? They’re born, they transform, they fuck, then they die.”
“Unfortunately, my essence too was just a shard, a sublimation of everything I’d wanted. . . . Death was the normal end for everyone: there, and only there, would my search for normalcy end.”
These three quotes are from three different stories, but they share one commonality: they guide the reader toward what’s really important from the story. They help the reader as well as the protagonist take something away.
Some of these stories demanded that I put the book down and let the impact of the language sink in. For other people, the book can be read in a couple sittings, but for me, I had to process each story on its own. I felt like it’d be a disservice not to give each one individual attention.
Therein lies one of the other elements I enjoyed most: the way each story stands out on its own, yet feels perfectly selected for inclusion in this collection. There are recurring characters—Larry Chao might be the most memorable—as well as recurring themes, though never do they feel rehashed.
Superlatives run thin at this point in some reviews. I can’t recommend the book enough. It’s got an incredibly tender, human element that is missing from so much of today’s literature, which is really some of the highest praise I can give a book.
My hat is off to Peter Tieryas Liu—chapeau!