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A review by jadeeby
Bearded Women: Stories by Teresa Milbrodt
3.0
Originally published at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements
This cover is absurd yet crazy awesome. It’s what initially made me want to read this novel. But the words within the story is what kept me reading. The blurb is pretty amazing too. This book is basically made up of “freaks” with stories to tell.
The Good: What I didn’t expect to find in this novel was such great writing. It was beautifully written but it had this strange, lyrical feel to it. The thing I loved about this novel was that even though each of the short stories contained a “freak” per se, their emotions and feelings of being different were relatable, tangible and so very real. These stories aren’t so much tales of being a Cyclops or having a beard… they are stories about people who are different and who are trying to come to terms with the reality of the outside world looking into their lives. They want to be recognized for who they are on the inside, but that’s not always possible and this novel attempts to explain why. I loved that the novel was comprised of short stories. It felt like it made the novel go by really fast. I also loved getting more than one POV from a “freak.” It was interesting the way the author was able to seamlessly move from story to story.
The Bad: There were some stories that seemed to linger a bit longer than necessary and didn’t hold my interest as much as I would have hoped. There were some stories didn’t end to my liking but that could be because I wanted more story or I wanted solid conclusion.
Overall, this book is a wonderful and touching look at what it means to be different. I give this book a B+ and recommend it for anyone looking for a strange, new book.
**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
This cover is absurd yet crazy awesome. It’s what initially made me want to read this novel. But the words within the story is what kept me reading. The blurb is pretty amazing too. This book is basically made up of “freaks” with stories to tell.
The Good: What I didn’t expect to find in this novel was such great writing. It was beautifully written but it had this strange, lyrical feel to it. The thing I loved about this novel was that even though each of the short stories contained a “freak” per se, their emotions and feelings of being different were relatable, tangible and so very real. These stories aren’t so much tales of being a Cyclops or having a beard… they are stories about people who are different and who are trying to come to terms with the reality of the outside world looking into their lives. They want to be recognized for who they are on the inside, but that’s not always possible and this novel attempts to explain why. I loved that the novel was comprised of short stories. It felt like it made the novel go by really fast. I also loved getting more than one POV from a “freak.” It was interesting the way the author was able to seamlessly move from story to story.
The Bad: There were some stories that seemed to linger a bit longer than necessary and didn’t hold my interest as much as I would have hoped. There were some stories didn’t end to my liking but that could be because I wanted more story or I wanted solid conclusion.
Overall, this book is a wonderful and touching look at what it means to be different. I give this book a B+ and recommend it for anyone looking for a strange, new book.
**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.