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A review by mccartershanon
Life Seemed Good, But... by Richard Bell
3.0
(Honest review in exchange for book)
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to describe Life Seemed Good, But… It is a collection of short stories, true, but they all connect in unexpected ways. Some stories are funny, some make you think, and others are really out there.
I think what I’ve settled on is that it’s kind of like a modern version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. There is a lot to explore and unpack within these stories, but not all will be up to the task. I think knowing about the background of the author and what he was going through when writing this helps to shed some light on the bittersweet and random nature of each tale. However that doesn’t change the fact that you will definitely walk away from some not knowing what to think.
Part of that is due to the fact that there are over ninety of them. And each one is such a mixed bag and so short that I never really knew what to expect when I sat down to read a few. I found myself getting burnt out on it rather quickly and, about half way through, decided to just finish it and get through it.
Let me be clear, that was a very bad decision! This really is a book that you should take your time with to really appreciate. Again, this book is definitely not for everyone (I might not be one of those either) but it is an interesting read and I don’t regret getting to read it!
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to describe Life Seemed Good, But… It is a collection of short stories, true, but they all connect in unexpected ways. Some stories are funny, some make you think, and others are really out there.
I think what I’ve settled on is that it’s kind of like a modern version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. There is a lot to explore and unpack within these stories, but not all will be up to the task. I think knowing about the background of the author and what he was going through when writing this helps to shed some light on the bittersweet and random nature of each tale. However that doesn’t change the fact that you will definitely walk away from some not knowing what to think.
Part of that is due to the fact that there are over ninety of them. And each one is such a mixed bag and so short that I never really knew what to expect when I sat down to read a few. I found myself getting burnt out on it rather quickly and, about half way through, decided to just finish it and get through it.
Let me be clear, that was a very bad decision! This really is a book that you should take your time with to really appreciate. Again, this book is definitely not for everyone (I might not be one of those either) but it is an interesting read and I don’t regret getting to read it!