tregina's review against another edition
5.0
I started out worried that this collection was going to be at least a little exploitative or dehumanizing, based on the title and theme, but it wasn't that at all. It was the opposite of that. I never anticipated how moved I was going to be. The stories all explore the body and identity in different ways, some bodies falling within the breadth of human variation (conjoined twins, gigantism, ichthyosis) and a few not (cyclops, medusa). In all of them we explore the person, the way they negotiate their life and the way they relate to other people and to themselves, the way they confront the varied and mundane challenges of the everyday.
The more I read of this, the more I loved it.
The more I read of this, the more I loved it.
jennybento's review against another edition
5.0
This book was great! Lots of short stories in current time of "freaks" getting by. Genius. Couldn't put it down. I do wish some of the stories would have been longer or resolved more, but it was great little sneak peeks. The first story is probably my favorite.
melodyseestrees's review
3.0
This book was not what I thought it would be. It wasn't bad but it wasn't phenomenal either. You're presented with several short stories focusing on varied individuals and a small portion of their lives or the people around them. The reason this book is only 3 stars to me is that there is little reason to care about any of these stories. They're the "average joes" with some "weird" stapled on. I feel all of the stories could've benefited from several paragraphs to several pages more. There would've been time to develop a reason to care about these characters that are relatively unremarkable. "The three legged man" didn't even get a name in his story, despite the main emphasis being that he was a normal sight for the people in the town.
In essence the book is as unremarkable as the characters in it, which could very well be the point. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad. It was just it. Some people may find it boring as there is more 'telling' than 'showing' in some of the stories.
In essence the book is as unremarkable as the characters in it, which could very well be the point. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad. It was just it. Some people may find it boring as there is more 'telling' than 'showing' in some of the stories.
tregina's review
5.0
I started out worried that this collection was going to be at least a little exploitative or dehumanizing, based on the title and theme, but it wasn't that at all. It was the opposite of that. I never anticipated how moved I was going to be. The stories all explore the body and identity in different ways, some bodies falling within the breadth of human variation (conjoined twins, gigantism, ichthyosis) and a few not (cyclops, medusa). In all of them we explore the person, the way they negotiate their life and the way they relate to other people and to themselves, the way they confront the varied and mundane challenges of the everyday.
The more I read of this, the more I loved it.
The more I read of this, the more I loved it.
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