a_violentfemme's review against another edition
4.0
Some really beautiful metaphors in this. I found her writing very inspirational but feel the order of the stories could have been better arranged. I would definitely recommend it though.
timbo001's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
wsking's review against another edition
4.0
Southern gothic short stories. A little strange. A little funny.
lamusadelils's review against another edition
3.0
Aprecio el humor y la creatividad, así como la mezcla de géneros. Pero es un poco exagerado en su intento de ser impactante y por la mitad comienza a sentirse repetitivo.
yayamacreads's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I really enjoyed about a third of the stories but I felt the rest really dragged.
mulveyr's review against another edition
5.0
"The Wilds" has to be one of the top five strangest books I've read in my life--and I can't praise it enough.
Much has been written about how the book is a fusion of Southern Gothic with Fantasy and Science Fiction. You'll get no argument from me about that. The thing that I like most about Elliot's short tales is that most of them set up the plot and give you much to think about, but then they simply stop at the perfect point to allow you to finish the story. You won't find loose ends wrapped up with a neat little bow, but you'll have everything you need to come to whatever conclusion makes you happy--if that's your sort of thing. Or you can simply assume the worst, given the Gothic heritage. :-)
Highly recommended.
Much has been written about how the book is a fusion of Southern Gothic with Fantasy and Science Fiction. You'll get no argument from me about that. The thing that I like most about Elliot's short tales is that most of them set up the plot and give you much to think about, but then they simply stop at the perfect point to allow you to finish the story. You won't find loose ends wrapped up with a neat little bow, but you'll have everything you need to come to whatever conclusion makes you happy--if that's your sort of thing. Or you can simply assume the worst, given the Gothic heritage. :-)
Highly recommended.
eawillis's review against another edition
4.0
Elliott's stories are powerful - they had me laughing one moment and cringing the next. There's a current of visceral and grotesque energy that runs through them, which both repulses and captivates. She certainly spun tales that felt at once wholly imagined and very, very familiar.
matthewcpeck's review against another edition
5.0
"The Wilds" is blurbed as an update of the Southern Gothic tradition. But apart from a few Georgia/Carolina settings, some Barry Hannah-esque prose, and a general mordant weirdness, these stories exist in their own category – a Julia Elliott category. Though it dips into satire, science fiction, and grimy realism, Elliott keeps coming back to human physiology, and the ways that we struggle to transcend the desires and decay that are part of our fleshy, fragile corporeal selves. There are magnificently tactile descriptions of skin, hair, bodily fluids, and odors. Especially odors. I can't seem to think of another fiction writer so obsessed with cataloguing smells, and so particularly fascinated by the idea of pheromones.
But don't let that put you off – somehow, every sentence that issues Elliott's pen is a joy to read. Apart from "The Whipping", which lays on the gritty adjectives a little too thickly, each story is a winner: from gaudy visions of the second coming in the opener "The Rapture", to the title story's eerie examination of adolescence, to the disastrous paleo lifestyle retreat of "The Caveman Diet", to a world overrun by packs of dogs in "Feral". But nothing knocked me on my butt as much as "The Love Machine", a shocking, heartbreaking, and bitterly hilarious tale narrated by a humanoid robot developed for the study of sex hormones & consciousness. "The Wilds" is a gift from a clever and fertile imagination, a book that lives up to its name.
But don't let that put you off – somehow, every sentence that issues Elliott's pen is a joy to read. Apart from "The Whipping", which lays on the gritty adjectives a little too thickly, each story is a winner: from gaudy visions of the second coming in the opener "The Rapture", to the title story's eerie examination of adolescence, to the disastrous paleo lifestyle retreat of "The Caveman Diet", to a world overrun by packs of dogs in "Feral". But nothing knocked me on my butt as much as "The Love Machine", a shocking, heartbreaking, and bitterly hilarious tale narrated by a humanoid robot developed for the study of sex hormones & consciousness. "The Wilds" is a gift from a clever and fertile imagination, a book that lives up to its name.
thotcriminal's review against another edition
4.0
One of the more interesting books i have read this year.