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A review by athirah_idrus
Ministry of Moral Panic by Amanda Lee Koe
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Brilliant writing, I admire the execution but I am not sure I can say the same thing about the intention.
The short stories in this collection do not seem to be connected. But upon further inspection, they do share a common denominator: all the stories were designed to maximize the shock value based on the themes chosen. The author seemed at ease shining the spotlight on the characters that typically reside on the periphery of society – the maid who found love at the unlikeliest place, the former king of tv series reliving his fame as his life turned shatters, a woman who did not fit the society’s definition of ‘beautiful’ who tried to buy the affections of a good-looking man – at the discomfort of the readers.
Despite the discomfort and feeling that I wanted to escape from the world that author created, I just couldn’t look away. There was a certain charm in her writing that held me in my seat, and I went along until the end of the ride. How is it that I found myself thoroughly enjoying the read, and at the same time feeling angry at the author for making me go through such an uncomfortable journey, for making me witness ugly scenes that do happen in real life, just maybe I’ve been blessed enough never having to interact with or experience them myself? This made Amanda an amazing writer to me.
Reading this made me realize how lucky I am that I can peek at the ugly parts of the world that I cannot stomach vicariously through the characters or the stories that I read, and have the luxury to choose to tune out them out should they bother me too much whenever I want. However, there are people in these very unfortunate circumstances in real life, either by luck or due to the consequences of poorly made decisions, especially those who weren’t lucky enough to be given options to choose otherwise.
My favorite stories from this collection are Love is No Big Truth, King of the Caldecott Hill and Fourteen Entries from the Diary of Maria Hertogh.
If you’re made of sterner stuff, then I recommend this.
The short stories in this collection do not seem to be connected. But upon further inspection, they do share a common denominator: all the stories were designed to maximize the shock value based on the themes chosen. The author seemed at ease shining the spotlight on the characters that typically reside on the periphery of society – the maid who found love at the unlikeliest place, the former king of tv series reliving his fame as his life turned shatters, a woman who did not fit the society’s definition of ‘beautiful’ who tried to buy the affections of a good-looking man – at the discomfort of the readers.
Despite the discomfort and feeling that I wanted to escape from the world that author created, I just couldn’t look away. There was a certain charm in her writing that held me in my seat, and I went along until the end of the ride. How is it that I found myself thoroughly enjoying the read, and at the same time feeling angry at the author for making me go through such an uncomfortable journey, for making me witness ugly scenes that do happen in real life, just maybe I’ve been blessed enough never having to interact with or experience them myself? This made Amanda an amazing writer to me.
Reading this made me realize how lucky I am that I can peek at the ugly parts of the world that I cannot stomach vicariously through the characters or the stories that I read, and have the luxury to choose to tune out them out should they bother me too much whenever I want. However, there are people in these very unfortunate circumstances in real life, either by luck or due to the consequences of poorly made decisions, especially those who weren’t lucky enough to be given options to choose otherwise.
My favorite stories from this collection are Love is No Big Truth, King of the Caldecott Hill and Fourteen Entries from the Diary of Maria Hertogh.
If you’re made of sterner stuff, then I recommend this.