love_kall's review against another edition
5.0
swedish literary weird spec fic. uhhh. help. i've never tasted something so strange and sweet.
szveronika91's review against another edition
4.0
This is the most bizarre, most surreal collection of short stories I ever read. It keeps being more and more WTF, but you just can't stop reading it.
katsherms's review against another edition
5.0
Torn between a 4 and a 5. There was one story that didn't work for me, but this was a truly lovely and strange book.
phillipjohnson's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
elizabethwillett's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
miranda_is_currently_reading's review against another edition
5.0
Individual story rankings:
- Beatrice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Some Letters for Ove Lindström ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Miss Nyberg and I ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Rebecka ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Herr Cederberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Who is Arvid Pekon? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Brita’s Holiday Visit ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Reindeer Mountain ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Cloudberry Jam ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Pyret ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Augusta Prima ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Aunts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Jagannath ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Beatrice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Some Letters for Ove Lindström ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Miss Nyberg and I ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Rebecka ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Herr Cederberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Who is Arvid Pekon? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Brita’s Holiday Visit ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Reindeer Mountain ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Cloudberry Jam ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Pyret ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Augusta Prima ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Aunts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Jagannath ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
peapod_boston's review against another edition
3.0
Translated by the author from Finnish (or sometimes written in English), this collection of weird short stories is a window into the fantasy of another country. Tidbeck's voice is unique and eerie. Recurring theme's include creatures growing from seeds and the vittra, sort of Scandinavian elves. A few of the pieces are simply enjoyable, but the bulk of the stories are strange and haunting. Standout stories include "Beatrice" (the brutal love story of a man & his airship), "Rebecka" (a haunting tale of despair), the Kafkaesque "Who is Arvid Pekon?", the well-documented cryptid story, "Pyret", the creepy fairy tales "Augusta Prima" and "Aunts", and the title story, a science fiction piece of sorts. If you're looking for something a little different, look no further.
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
2.0
Rebecka and the titular Jagannath are the only short stories worth your time in this collection. The others are either forgettable or weird for weird's sake. Coming from a small press set up by Jeff VanderMeer, the other new weird writer who is prone to write weird for weird's sake, this shouldn't come as a surprise for me. The saving grace is the fact that this book isn't very long. Spent two days on this, which is really more time than I'd like.