sonia_reppe's review
3.0
I guess my favorite was "appetite" but I didn't love any of these. Some were really short. Since the content is all about girls lives, I thought I would like this more than I did (I lost interest in some of the stories). I liked the writing style, so I am eager to read Lazarin's future books. Lots of potential. In the afterword, the author said this was twenty years in the making, and I wasn't surprised because some of the stories seem written by a college writing student, others were more mature and hefty.
jena_33's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
plaidpladd's review
2.0
My expectations were high after reading the NPR review on this collection, but most of the stories, while pleasant to read, left me feeling nothing. Nothing really wrong with them, just forgettable.
chantelbrenna's review
5.0
These stories are beautiful and many of them hit home for me, in a way that I think they will for a lot of folks. Relatable, sad, funny, frustrating, all of it. And beautiful writing that I absolutely loved.
ptrckmcc's review
emotional
reflective
medium-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? N/A
4.0
katie_machen's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zoet's review
1.0
I LOVE short stories
Just not these short stories.
No one can convince me that they have agency and purpose. I get the women. I get what it feels like to want things like attention, sex, love, and the feeling of belonging somewhere. I get the women. I also get the stories.
However, starting them and ending them left me with the same feeling of indifference. Nothing about the stories changed me or made me feel anything because, in creating the images of the women, that was average, but in telling a story, that was well below average in Back Talk.
I also love short stories that come full circle. I love when they have that one line at the end that ties everything in a nice bow that does not mean, wow, that was a thrill, or wow, I want more, but wow, that was a great story.
With all the stories in Back Talk, I didn't get any of that. Each of them needed like five more pages of explanation or back story or just something more that would make me feel like I wasn't reading an incomplete manuscript--because that's essentially what I felt like.
Even in the first story, which I think should be one of the best ones, the ones that are hard hitting, the ones that draw us in--there was no explanation on so many things that would have been wonderful had the author expanded on. How'd the mother die? Why were there undertones of abuse and why couldn't those undertones not be mere, easily missable undertones?
I understand the "charm" of these short stories is that they're value is one that's quiet, but I think there's been a mistake about what's quiet and what's generic.
For anyone dissatisfied with this book, read Roxanne Gay's Difficult Women
[bc:Difficult Women|28818921|Difficult Women|Roxane Gay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1478773519s/28818921.jpg|51184496]
Gay does a much better job creating powerful women narratives, who want the same things as the women in Back Talk, and more, while also using all the real estate of a short story to create something as thrilling as a life's novel.
Just not these short stories.
No one can convince me that they have agency and purpose. I get the women. I get what it feels like to want things like attention, sex, love, and the feeling of belonging somewhere. I get the women. I also get the stories.
However, starting them and ending them left me with the same feeling of indifference. Nothing about the stories changed me or made me feel anything because, in creating the images of the women, that was average, but in telling a story, that was well below average in Back Talk.
I also love short stories that come full circle. I love when they have that one line at the end that ties everything in a nice bow that does not mean, wow, that was a thrill, or wow, I want more, but wow, that was a great story.
With all the stories in Back Talk, I didn't get any of that. Each of them needed like five more pages of explanation or back story or just something more that would make me feel like I wasn't reading an incomplete manuscript--because that's essentially what I felt like.
Even in the first story, which I think should be one of the best ones, the ones that are hard hitting, the ones that draw us in--there was no explanation on so many things that would have been wonderful had the author expanded on. How'd the mother die? Why were there undertones of abuse and why couldn't those undertones not be mere, easily missable undertones?
I understand the "charm" of these short stories is that they're value is one that's quiet, but I think there's been a mistake about what's quiet and what's generic.
For anyone dissatisfied with this book, read Roxanne Gay's Difficult Women
[bc:Difficult Women|28818921|Difficult Women|Roxane Gay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1478773519s/28818921.jpg|51184496]
Gay does a much better job creating powerful women narratives, who want the same things as the women in Back Talk, and more, while also using all the real estate of a short story to create something as thrilling as a life's novel.
scotti_mp's review
fast-paced
4.0
Best chapters: Spider Legs, The Holographic Soul, Gone, Looking for a ThiefÂ
missdtm's review
5.0
What a wonderful book of short stories about women! I really loved how quiet a lot of the stories are and how much there is to dig into. Danielle is a wonderful storyteller and I love reading about nyc.