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A review by smileysunflower
Pretty Monsters: Stories by Kelly Link
2.0
2.5/5 stars - completely middle of the road
DNF at 54.7%
I read 6 out of the 9 stories. For each of them, I ran into one of two problems. Either, the story was completely average in every way, or, I enjoyed the story and found it to be interesting, only for the ending to feel unsatisfactory. Examples of the more average stories included the Wrong Grave, The Specialist's Hat, and Monster. They were fine for what they were, but felt more like an outline of a story instead of a real one. I didn't need them to be longer, I just wish the writing was a little bit more deeper.
The more interesting stories were the Wizards of Perfil and Magic for Beginners, but at times they felt like they were just being weird for weird's sake, which does not lead to a satisfying story and conclusion. At the end of Wizards of Perfil, I was left wondering why any of that happened and the end of Magic for Beginners made me mad- I felt cheated out of a good ending. It's not that I needed the answers spelled out, I'm fine with an open ending, but literally making everything weird and confusing and then telling me its done- what's up with that?! I felt like I just wasted my time.
The Faery Handbag was the standout of the 6 stories I read, as I felt like it satisfying while still being open about what happened next and that even though it was "weird" it wasn't completely random and confusing. That one was worth reading.
Kelly Link's writing style didn't do much for me either. It was close to being something I liked, but I felt like it was kind of average too.
Pretty Monsters isn't a bad collection of short stories, but I don't think it's for me. It was trying, but I didn't really care for anything it did. It has a nice cover and I liked the illustrations at the start of each story, though.
DNF at 54.7%
I read 6 out of the 9 stories. For each of them, I ran into one of two problems. Either, the story was completely average in every way, or, I enjoyed the story and found it to be interesting, only for the ending to feel unsatisfactory. Examples of the more average stories included the Wrong Grave, The Specialist's Hat, and Monster. They were fine for what they were, but felt more like an outline of a story instead of a real one. I didn't need them to be longer, I just wish the writing was a little bit more deeper.
The more interesting stories were the Wizards of Perfil and Magic for Beginners, but at times they felt like they were just being weird for weird's sake, which does not lead to a satisfying story and conclusion. At the end of Wizards of Perfil, I was left wondering why any of that happened and the end of Magic for Beginners made me mad- I felt cheated out of a good ending. It's not that I needed the answers spelled out, I'm fine with an open ending, but literally making everything weird and confusing and then telling me its done- what's up with that?! I felt like I just wasted my time.
The Faery Handbag was the standout of the 6 stories I read, as I felt like it satisfying while still being open about what happened next and that even though it was "weird" it wasn't completely random and confusing. That one was worth reading.
Kelly Link's writing style didn't do much for me either. It was close to being something I liked, but I felt like it was kind of average too.
Pretty Monsters isn't a bad collection of short stories, but I don't think it's for me. It was trying, but I didn't really care for anything it did. It has a nice cover and I liked the illustrations at the start of each story, though.