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A review by thelaurasaurus
Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo
3.0
The first short story, "Waiting for a Hurricane", follows an aloof and emotionally detached girl with dreams of escaping her life. I loved this story, which was reminiscent of "Bonjour Tristesse" with its nihilistic teen vibes.
The short stories were more challenging as this is not a format I typically enjoy. In the end I enjoyed 2/7 of them, which isn't bad for me. They were "Worse Things" (Titi the fat kid), and "Something We Never Were" (weird sex playwright). The others were too bleak. Overall, this section is what dragged the book down to 3* for me and reinforced my opinion that if your short story leaves a lot unsaid and I have to guess at your hidden meanings, I'd rather you just wrote a longer story.
The final part of the book, a second novella called "Sexual Education" was the one which I related to the most. I enjoy a nostalgic look back at school days, so this story of a teenager at a strict catholic school trying to navigate the world of sex was right up my street.
The short stories were more challenging as this is not a format I typically enjoy. In the end I enjoyed 2/7 of them, which isn't bad for me. They were "Worse Things" (Titi the fat kid), and "Something We Never Were" (weird sex playwright). The others were too bleak. Overall, this section is what dragged the book down to 3* for me and reinforced my opinion that if your short story leaves a lot unsaid and I have to guess at your hidden meanings, I'd rather you just wrote a longer story.
The final part of the book, a second novella called "Sexual Education" was the one which I related to the most. I enjoy a nostalgic look back at school days, so this story of a teenager at a strict catholic school trying to navigate the world of sex was right up my street.