adamz24's review against another edition
4.0
Deliberately concise fiction rarely appeals to me, but when it does it's like the revelatory high that comes with real serious emotional experiences that occur without the involvement of any drinking or drug use. Perhaps it's the difference between the pretenders, writers who simply substitute a plot outline for storytelling and call it minimalism, and the real deal, writers capable of genuine concise communication.
Amelia Gray is one of the loveliest writers I've come across in a long time. The prose is beautiful but unpretentious. This book is funny but not straining for wit. Insights emerge from nothingness, peek out from the liminal spaces on the page, then strike bolts of emotion into this reader's soul, which, when it finds books like this one, doesn't feel the need to be doused in several Old Fashioned cocktails.
Amelia Gray is one of the loveliest writers I've come across in a long time. The prose is beautiful but unpretentious. This book is funny but not straining for wit. Insights emerge from nothingness, peek out from the liminal spaces on the page, then strike bolts of emotion into this reader's soul, which, when it finds books like this one, doesn't feel the need to be doused in several Old Fashioned cocktails.
saltytiger's review against another edition
Not what I hoped. I liked the idea of this collection but couldn’t get into it. The stories felt repetitive in a purposeless way. I’m sure many went over my head but I’m not interested in figuring them out.
cstefko's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
This was a re-read. I remember the first time I read it was during a particularly long wait for a doctor's appointment at the pediatric clinic when I was nearly too old to be at the pediatric clinic. I remember feeling grown up reading this almost-but-not-quite experimental collection of stories/flash fiction. The book reminds me of that feeling, of trying very hard to be serious. I really enjoyed the book all those years ago, but it hasn't aged well for me. It bugs me now that the stories are so close to being connected, but ultimately don't connect in a cohesive way. There are some brilliant moments, more like a poetry collection than stories, but also a lot that made me roll my eyes. And if you have the same impression, let me just caution you now not to pick up her book Threats, because it's more of the same.
This was a re-read. I remember the first time I read it was during a particularly long wait for a doctor's appointment at the pediatric clinic when I was nearly too old to be at the pediatric clinic. I remember feeling grown up reading this almost-but-not-quite experimental collection of stories/flash fiction. The book reminds me of that feeling, of trying very hard to be serious. I really enjoyed the book all those years ago, but it hasn't aged well for me. It bugs me now that the stories are so close to being connected, but ultimately don't connect in a cohesive way. There are some brilliant moments, more like a poetry collection than stories, but also a lot that made me roll my eyes. And if you have the same impression, let me just caution you now not to pick up her book Threats, because it's more of the same.
gvenezia's review against another edition
3.0
AM/PM is my first encounter with a book marketed and reviewed primarily as “flash fiction” (i.e. very short stories which still contain intimations of plot and character development). That broad definition is inclusive of many similar forms, like parables, concise short stories, and prose poems. And Gray does in fact operate in those modes. However, what differentiates AM/PM is its presentation as a collection: the persistent, intentional use of short, self-contained passages to explore a loose association of characters and their emotional and philosophical concerns. The length of each passage ranges from a few sentences to a few paragraphs, but never exceeds the length of a page. The tone ranges from exhortation to narrative to journalistic to laudatory. More notably, each contains at least some small twist or prompt which heightens the symbolism, philosophical implications, or emotional depth of the passage.
While most of the passages deal with the relationships of a large cast of characters, some are completely divorced from any of the narrative (at least on first glance, repeat readings imply characters via linguistic tics, situational details, and repeated themes). These non-narrative passages edge into magical realism, philosophy, hysterical realism, and the absurd: friends are trapped indefinitely in a velvety black box, children discover a searingly hot monolith at a picnic. It is in these passages that I particularly felt the strength of Gray’s writing (see five examples after the break below).
Nonetheless, after finishing the book and then quickly skimming or rereading every passage again, I felt unfulfilled by Gray's particular mix of form and content. In my mind the book could have been great exemplar of contemporary fiction (in the vein of Patricia Lockwood or Jenny Hval) if the scope been more refined in one of the following three ways:
1. Same length but with fewer characters in order to give the remaining characters more development and backstory. This additional context could build up more meaningful interpersonal and thematic associations.
2. Longer length with the same characters, again, so the reader can build more complex associations with characters.
3. More of the absurdist, philosophical, hysterical realist, and magical realist passages.
Granted, Gray wrote two of these stories a day (in the AM and PM) for two months. With that constraint in mind, I give the collection four stars (but the reflective, content-critical, thematic rating is what matters more to me, hence three stars). Regardless of the details of its creation, AM/PM ranks as one of my favorite works in the broad category of “flash fiction.”
—
Selections
AM:3
Having recently read Christopher Smart's ode to his Cat Jeoffry, I couldn't help but think Gray was inspired by Smart's religious and sublime treatment of an ordinary subject:
While most of the passages deal with the relationships of a large cast of characters, some are completely divorced from any of the narrative (at least on first glance, repeat readings imply characters via linguistic tics, situational details, and repeated themes). These non-narrative passages edge into magical realism, philosophy, hysterical realism, and the absurd: friends are trapped indefinitely in a velvety black box, children discover a searingly hot monolith at a picnic. It is in these passages that I particularly felt the strength of Gray’s writing (see five examples after the break below).
Nonetheless, after finishing the book and then quickly skimming or rereading every passage again, I felt unfulfilled by Gray's particular mix of form and content. In my mind the book could have been great exemplar of contemporary fiction (in the vein of Patricia Lockwood or Jenny Hval) if the scope been more refined in one of the following three ways:
1. Same length but with fewer characters in order to give the remaining characters more development and backstory. This additional context could build up more meaningful interpersonal and thematic associations.
2. Longer length with the same characters, again, so the reader can build more complex associations with characters.
3. More of the absurdist, philosophical, hysterical realist, and magical realist passages.
Granted, Gray wrote two of these stories a day (in the AM and PM) for two months. With that constraint in mind, I give the collection four stars (but the reflective, content-critical, thematic rating is what matters more to me, hence three stars). Regardless of the details of its creation, AM/PM ranks as one of my favorite works in the broad category of “flash fiction.”
—
Selections
AM:3
Having recently read Christopher Smart's ode to his Cat Jeoffry, I couldn't help but think Gray was inspired by Smart's religious and sublime treatment of an ordinary subject:
lamusadelils's review against another edition
3.0
No es secreto que amo la microficción, por su curiosa belleza al decir lo justo para contar una historia pero dejarte pensando en todo lo que no se dice y rellenando los huecos en tu imaginación.
No todos tienen la gracia de contar microficción que funcione, que sea memorable y no un mero ejercicio de cortar palabras de un cuento mas largo. Gray me convenció y de paso me sacó varias sonrisitas.
No todos tienen la gracia de contar microficción que funcione, que sea memorable y no un mero ejercicio de cortar palabras de un cuento mas largo. Gray me convenció y de paso me sacó varias sonrisitas.
sasha_fletcher's review against another edition
5.0
Amelia Gray is like if Donald Barthelme and Grace Paley had a baby, and that baby grew up in the dessert, which is vast, and at times unforgiving, and often blinding.
srogan88's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love it for a lot of reasons but I felt like I just didn't get it. I loved the idea of the book - stories told in very very short snippets, chapters consisting of only paragraphs. Brief glimpses. A few of them did resonate. Most of them left me wondering if maybe it would all tie together and make sense at the end.
It didn't. At least not for me.
It didn't. At least not for me.
cheezh8er's review against another edition
3.0
Some of these pieces and how they intertwined were hilarious and thought provoking. Others were hollow. When I turned the page, I was never sure which one I would get.
riannestratford's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
buttontapper's review against another edition
4.0
I'm going to have to think about this one for a bit. I tore through it, as each "chapter" was quite bite-sized, but I think it may call for a re-reading precisely because of its seemingly easy reading. Is it deceptively simple, or is it profound in its simplicity? I'll get back to you on that. In the meantime, you can read it and decide for yourself.