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joyce_porter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
elly29's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Wow. These short stories and novella are so dark and gritty, and they are sketched-out like Franz Kline paintings. To put it mildly, Saunders' writing is economical, and he shows you the darkness that accompanies the human experience and within the human heart; all of his stories, though, are crowned with a brief glimpse through that darkness to the other half of human experience, which is love. Those grains of kindness are redemptive. At times the writing made me ill -- there's abuse, and cruelty, and slavery, and death -- and then other times I was ugly-crying at the smallest kindnesses and the beauty therein.
Though it was initially published in 1996, I think a lot of the themes are relevant to today: prejudice, racial profiling, ableism, poverty, distraught economical systems, and environmental havoc, to name a fewz
"CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" and "Isabella" were my favorites. "Bounty," the novella, was perhaps a little longer than necessary but still had that satisfying (albeit one-lined) redemption.
Even the author's note at the end was worthwhile; obvs written by a white man in privilege, living the standard dream of having a family while having his soul sucked away at work. (I can respect him for stealing away time and resources to write this book.)
I don't recommend this if reading difficult books could trigger a depressive episode, or if the state of the news makes you excessively sad.
Though it was initially published in 1996, I think a lot of the themes are relevant to today: prejudice, racial profiling, ableism, poverty, distraught economical systems, and environmental havoc, to name a fewz
"CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" and "Isabella" were my favorites. "Bounty," the novella, was perhaps a little longer than necessary but still had that satisfying (albeit one-lined) redemption.
Even the author's note at the end was worthwhile; obvs written by a white man in privilege, living the standard dream of having a family while having his soul sucked away at work. (I can respect him for stealing away time and resources to write this book.)
I don't recommend this if reading difficult books could trigger a depressive episode, or if the state of the news makes you excessively sad.
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
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