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A review by ladymirtazapine
Speak Gigantular by Irenosen Okojie
4.0
Content warnings: Brutal scenes of childhood bullying. Infidelity. Kidnapping. Physical violence. Suicide. Bank robbery. Serious illness. Death of a grandparent in the past. Sexual assault of an intellectually disabled teen. Murder. Ableism. Racism. War. Euthanasia. Dead baby.
I thought of this book as brutal in several places, and then wondered why when so many awful things have happened other books I've read recently but not described that way. I think the reason is that in those books the bad things were incidents that took place in the story, whereas with these oftentimes the terribleness was the story. Which is not something I tend to enjoy, although the popularity of Game of Thrones would suggest that puts me in the minority.
I feel somewhat unqualified to review this book because sci-fi/fantasy is not a genre I've read very much of at all - one of the reasons I chose this book was to try to branch out a little in that direction. So I don't have a benchmark to set it against in the way I do with general fiction or non-fiction. And I'm unsure whether the parts I didn't appreciate are a product of the work or the fact this isn't a type of storytelling I tend to appreciate.
It was very well written for the most part, except for when the extravagant descriptions and imagery got in the way of the story.
For short stories they created a very vivid sense of place, especially the stories set in London. Some of those put me in mind a little of the Channel 4 show Misfits.
It's an incredibly imaginative collection and I'm glad I picked it up for something a bit different.
I thought of this book as brutal in several places, and then wondered why when so many awful things have happened other books I've read recently but not described that way. I think the reason is that in those books the bad things were incidents that took place in the story, whereas with these oftentimes the terribleness was the story. Which is not something I tend to enjoy, although the popularity of Game of Thrones would suggest that puts me in the minority.
I feel somewhat unqualified to review this book because sci-fi/fantasy is not a genre I've read very much of at all - one of the reasons I chose this book was to try to branch out a little in that direction. So I don't have a benchmark to set it against in the way I do with general fiction or non-fiction. And I'm unsure whether the parts I didn't appreciate are a product of the work or the fact this isn't a type of storytelling I tend to appreciate.
It was very well written for the most part, except for when the extravagant descriptions and imagery got in the way of the story.
For short stories they created a very vivid sense of place, especially the stories set in London. Some of those put me in mind a little of the Channel 4 show Misfits.
It's an incredibly imaginative collection and I'm glad I picked it up for something a bit different.