Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield

15 reviews

sea_sea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

An amazing collection of 9 short horror stories! I really enjoyed reading this book! 
I think my favorite short stories were “The Great Awake”, “Stop your women’s ears with wax” and “Cassandra After” . 
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kathrynjl's review

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I picked up Salt Slow after reading Julia Armfield's novel, Our Wives Under the Sea, a deeply beautiful and moving sapphic love story with a creepy horror element. This collection of short stories did not disappoint and combines Armfield's exquisite prose with similar themes. I found Salt Slow to be eerie, addictive reading. My favourite stories were The Great Awake, The Collectables, and Formerly Feral, but this entire volume is worth a read. Nobody writes like Julia Armfield and Salt Slow has cemented her as a top author for me.
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alice_underland's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Lovely collection of short stories, presenting so many complex women characters. 
”I support women’s rights, 
but more importantly, 
I support women’s wrongs”
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biobeetle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sav_22's review

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This compilation of short stories is one that I highly recommend reading. The way she writes is just beautiful even during periods of simplicity to me, and each story leaves you before you leave it; it lingers and stays with you for quite a bit, and her way with allegories is just so raw and impressive. My favorite would have to be Formally Feral; something about it just resonated and truly felt special. Some of her literary decisions may confuse people, or disinterest people because she does not give you all the answers or hold your hand through it. She just expels the story and leaves it as is, so if you aren’t paying attention, or if you like books that don’t revolve around symbolism and metaphors, then this wouldn’t be as good as a read for you. I’d say it’s a niche topic coverage, and I’d even recommend buddy reading so you have someone to talk to about it after tbh. 
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carlycormier_'s review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

”The ocean empties, a thousand dead and dying invertebrates, jungled tentacles and fine, fragile membranes blanketing the shore two miles in each direction. They are translucent, almost spectral, as though the sea has exorcised its ghosts. Drowned in air, they break apart and bleed their interiors. A saturation, leeching down into the earth."


I don't believe I have ever read a short story collection before... salt slow was quite the first choice! I would pick it up every now and then to read a story or two when I wanted a break from whatever else I was doing/reading. Armfield's prose is quite unique and unlike most of what I’ve read before. These stories all feel quite normal as if they are happening within our own world, but then there is one small aspect that sets off the balance of nature, making you feel uneasy at times.

Intelligent and gripping, yet off-putting and slightly horrifying.

My favorites were: The Great Awake, Granite, and Smack. I would highly recommend this to those who are looking for something to shake up their genre choices or are interested in a fresh voice (or those who simply want to drool over beautiful cover art). Can't wait to read more from Armfield!
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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective

5.0

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hanz's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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nhewitt99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Literary, unusual, intimate, spooky. Like Our Wives, these stories blend grimy unreality with surprising moments of closeness. Many explore the chasm of unfamiliarity exposed as relationships end. Topics spanning self-image, gender, community, and religion are weaved throughout. Armfield's poetic selection of detail and her striking, uncanny dialogue are major strong points.
Most memorable: Stop Your Women's Ears with Wax
Favorite romance: Cassandra After 
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bethsreading's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I really like Armfield’s writing style. I particularly like how the gothic elements of the stories are ever present in the background, creeping closer as each story progresses. They are unsettling and creative and pull you in. My main critique of them is that quite a few of the main characters felt a bit interchangeable. As they are short stories, the characters wont have as much depth as they do in a novel and Armfield does a great job of building these characters in a short number of pages; I was just left feeling like some of the outlooks and personalities of the main characters blurred together a little. It is a good collection though and I would recommend to people who liked The Dangers of Smoking in Bed.   
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