The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
kezemu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
laylee_98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
lamw's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
Iâve only read Helen Oyeyemiâs story out of this collection (so far).
âWhen someone mentions that matters of the heart conclude in a kind of living death, what other intention can be heard there? Are they helpfully identifying a noble cause for us to throw ourselves at? Insinuating that no backstabbing could radiate more tragic glory than the one committed by your own heart?â
âWhen someone mentions that matters of the heart conclude in a kind of living death, what other intention can be heard there? Are they helpfully identifying a noble cause for us to throw ourselves at? Insinuating that no backstabbing could radiate more tragic glory than the one committed by your own heart?â
TITLEââVituperatorâ in FURIES: Stories of the wicked, wild and untamed
AUTHORâHelen Oyeyemi
PUBLISHEDâ2023
PUBLISHERâVirago
My thoughts:
The thing you gotta understand about Helen Oyeyemi is thatâ
âsheâs not going to wait for you to catch up to her. Under no circumstances will she simplify or demystify her style, her characters, her language, or her stories for the mere reason of appealling to a larger number of readers. She doesnât care if you donât get itâeven if youâre her number one fan. đ
(itâs me. Iâm the number one fan. đ)
Sometimes it feels like getting to the root of any meaning in Oyeyemiâs work is a practice in scrying. She has created a work of art in accordance with her unmatched vision and imagination and tossed it out for the readerâs perusalâif they think they can âget itâ. So âmeaningâ is arguably less relevant here than in most literary conversations. But to say her work is pure absurdism is also to oversimplify and largely miss the projectâas abstract and surreal as it may be.
Her 9-page story, âVituperatorâ, in âFURIES: Stories of the wicked, wild and untamedâ, is no exception. Upon finishing the story initially I was disappointed. I tossed the library book on the table and was like, âwelp. I didnât get it.â And then I went to make my tea, and as I was steeping my chocolatey rooibos, my brain started to turn over and over the lines that stuck out the most from her story. I even wrote a few words down on a piece of paper: âMakedaâ, âSolomonâ, âQueenieâKingieâ, âtrollâ, âAIâ, âegoâ, ânetizenâzenââŠ. I went to get the jar of honey from the pantry. âWait, where *had* I heard the name Makeda before?â
You probably already know. Makeda was one of the names of the Queen of Shebaâ*the* Queen of Sheba: the match, or perhaps, the better-than, to the heralded âwise/stâ King Solomon (incidentally the name of the AI program in the story); the philosopher-queen who traveled with an extensive retinue (google it, itâs wild) to visit the foreign, fabled king in order to âprove him with hard questionsâ, or âriddlesâ. âHmm,â I thought. âWho else poses riddles as a kind of test?â (Ok, yes, SmĂ©agol, but thatâs not who Iâm getting atâ) âA *fairytale troll*!â
So now we have Makedaâ>Riddlerâ>*Troll* (Oyeyemiâs Makedaâs job-description in the story)â> Vituperator⊠Makeda and Sollyâs purpose⊠Their dynamic⊠It wasnât a relationship because how could a human and an AI program have a relationshipâŠor could they? Their success⊠mitigated? subverted? *subconsciously* aborted? Their ambition (ego, ego, ego). Their failure⊠the answer is just out of reach but the more I think about it, the more glimpses I catchâlike trying to spy animals in the forest while riding a high speed train through the countrysideâoh! and now Iâve overbrewed my tea.
âSolomon and its Queen really did seek to be the absolute best at what they did. The sheer euphoria of pushing their subjects just far enough to make them rewrite their contracts with themselvesâthat must have been distracting.â
The collection of stories in FURIES is meant to be âa fun and fearless collection of new and original feminist tales, from some of the most exciting writers working todayâ. The only author Iâve read before from those featured is Oyeyemi. I have a book each (unread) by Chibundu Onuzo and Ali Smith on my shelves but I either havenât heard enough about or am just not feeling super compelled to read any of the other authors at the moment. đ€·đ»
Iâll be getting at least a paperback copy of the book when thatâs released though because Iâve got to have all of Oyeyemiâs writing on my shelves and maybe Iâll check out some of the other stories then (because the premise *is* interesting). But for now, I was really just interested in Oyeyemiâs story. Iâll have to keep thinking about it though⊠đ
âPoor Makeda, he thought. She was iust a feeble litte mind, supine in the concrete coffin of monolingualism.â
ladykillller's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? No
4.5
gabyelle97's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
caitamber24's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
1mpossiblealice's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this would be right up my street but I just didn't love any of the stories. There were some I enjoyed or thought were good, but nothing amazing or that I really connected with, and several that I read and just thought "?" at. So disappointing really. And looking back at the list there aren't many stories that I can remember much about at all.Â
I'm sure some people will love this, but just not for me really. The only one I really liked and remember clearly was the Ali Smith one.Â
I'm sure some people will love this, but just not for me really. The only one I really liked and remember clearly was the Ali Smith one.Â