readingrealgood's review
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I didn't love every story, but the ones I did love, I *really* loved. Several of them left me wanting more, in the best way!
dllh's review against another edition
3.0
A couple of the stories in this one worked for me, but I like Levin more in long form.
bea_sr_my's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
clarkness's review against another edition
4.0
I love short stories because they are the best of all worlds. If something isn't working, it's over pretty quickly and I haven't burned a bunch of time and mental energy. If something really is working, you get left with the feeling that you could have read so much more of that story, which is endears the writer and story to you. I almost always leave a short story collection feeling happy and excited about the author or authors whom I have just read.
Great hit-to-miss ratio in this volume. I especially liked "Considering the Bittersweet End of Susan Falls", "Jane Tell", "RSVP", and "Scientific American". It's probably not a huge surprise that someone who studied under George Saunders would come out with aspects of Saunders' voice, but I am not complaining. And of course, the influence is there, but the voice is its own. Very excited to read more by Levin soon.
Great hit-to-miss ratio in this volume. I especially liked "Considering the Bittersweet End of Susan Falls", "Jane Tell", "RSVP", and "Scientific American". It's probably not a huge surprise that someone who studied under George Saunders would come out with aspects of Saunders' voice, but I am not complaining. And of course, the influence is there, but the voice is its own. Very excited to read more by Levin soon.
bettyvd's review against another edition
4.0
Met veel plezier deze korte verhalen gelezen. Grappig, schrijnend, ongewoon in hard en heet roze.
Als je 'The instructions' nog niet gelezen hebt: doen!
Als je 'The instructions' nog niet gelezen hebt: doen!
azure_dawn's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t read all of it, about half of the stories. Didn’t understand anything. Well, understood some things. It was alright.
natesea's review against another edition
4.0
Hot Pink is awesome story telling goodness. The title story is the best of the collection, but they are all gems. Adam Levin is master, whether it is a two page story, or an over-a-thousand-pages tome like The Instructions. I love this writer, and you will too.
camil7156's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
vasta's review against another edition
4.0
The main reason I enjoy reading short fiction is because it is a genre that lends itself to experimentation. Unlike longer pieces of fiction, short stories provide a format that allows for play, exploration, and trial and error; it is easier to try something new and crazy in a short story because successes and failures both end after a few pages. The writer quickly moves on, and so do we, as readers.
In Hot Pink, Adam Levin experiments freely and isn’t afraid to fall flat. (He rarely does fall, in this collection.) Mr. Levin’s tinkering with form and style is akin to the rapid prototyping done by the father character in the opening story, Frankenwittgenstein: needs and appetites of the public change quickly, and Mr. Levin is doing his best to keep ahead of the changing reader expectations.
Frankenwittgenstein, like every other short story in the collection, does not end in any kind of expected way. In each short piece, the behaviors, motivations, and personalities of all the characters morph and transform, and the plot shifts and moves with their changing whims. Even in tales that span just a couple of pages, Mr. Levin deftly takes us through winding character arcs and convoluted storylines until we come to resolutions that are unexpected, unorthodox, and improbably entertaining.
The three standout stories in Hot Pink — Considering the Bittersweet End of Susan Falls, Jane Tell, and the titular Hot Pink — are perfect examples of Mr. Levin’s ability to use prose to take us inside the minds of each of his conflicted characters. None of the characters are true protagonists or antagonists, but instead complex, nuanced beings that act and listen and learn based on what’s going on in the world around them.
Mr. Levin uses vivid, almost dramatic (but never purple) language to help us get inside the heads of his heroes and villains — often, these are both the same person. The imagery that lingers in the minds of the characters of his stories also linger in ours, from the Eggs Jiselle that Susan Falls doesn’t get to eat, to the hand around the throat of Jane Tell that excites her emotionally and physically. We feel what each person in the story feels, for better or for worse.
Not every tale in Hot Pink is perfect; some are too experimental, too disjointed to fully resonate, but they all reflect Mr. Levin’s willingness to try something new, to use prose to innovate in radical ways. The format of short fiction is perfect for this experimentation, and Mr. Levin embraces it fully.
Even when it borders on the avant-garde and ungraspable, Hot Pink is gripping. When it resonates, the collection is astonishing. I’ll have to revisit it, soon.
(Originally published on I Tell Stories.)
In Hot Pink, Adam Levin experiments freely and isn’t afraid to fall flat. (He rarely does fall, in this collection.) Mr. Levin’s tinkering with form and style is akin to the rapid prototyping done by the father character in the opening story, Frankenwittgenstein: needs and appetites of the public change quickly, and Mr. Levin is doing his best to keep ahead of the changing reader expectations.
Frankenwittgenstein, like every other short story in the collection, does not end in any kind of expected way. In each short piece, the behaviors, motivations, and personalities of all the characters morph and transform, and the plot shifts and moves with their changing whims. Even in tales that span just a couple of pages, Mr. Levin deftly takes us through winding character arcs and convoluted storylines until we come to resolutions that are unexpected, unorthodox, and improbably entertaining.
The three standout stories in Hot Pink — Considering the Bittersweet End of Susan Falls, Jane Tell, and the titular Hot Pink — are perfect examples of Mr. Levin’s ability to use prose to take us inside the minds of each of his conflicted characters. None of the characters are true protagonists or antagonists, but instead complex, nuanced beings that act and listen and learn based on what’s going on in the world around them.
Mr. Levin uses vivid, almost dramatic (but never purple) language to help us get inside the heads of his heroes and villains — often, these are both the same person. The imagery that lingers in the minds of the characters of his stories also linger in ours, from the Eggs Jiselle that Susan Falls doesn’t get to eat, to the hand around the throat of Jane Tell that excites her emotionally and physically. We feel what each person in the story feels, for better or for worse.
Not every tale in Hot Pink is perfect; some are too experimental, too disjointed to fully resonate, but they all reflect Mr. Levin’s willingness to try something new, to use prose to innovate in radical ways. The format of short fiction is perfect for this experimentation, and Mr. Levin embraces it fully.
Even when it borders on the avant-garde and ungraspable, Hot Pink is gripping. When it resonates, the collection is astonishing. I’ll have to revisit it, soon.
(Originally published on I Tell Stories.)