Reviews

Memory Wall, by Anthony Doerr

Only show reviews with written explanations

aimeebenitez4's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging mysterious reflective

3.5

mikuish's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.5

ellamarieedel's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This book the first short story collection I've read, and while I really like the short story format, these stories were kind of hit or miss for me. I didn't enjoy Doerr's writing style in this as much as I did in All the Light We Cannot See, for some reason; all the stories seemed really surreal to me, which I don't enjoy, unless that's the point and the author is writing about unreal things (in this case, he wasn't). Most of these stories were just okay, they didn't really make me feel very much. I found all of them interesting, but unlike with All the Light We Cannot See, I didn't feel much empathy with the characters or connection with the stories. That said, I really enjoyed two of the stories (and connected with the characters): "The River Nemunas," and "Afterworld." I loved those two (especially "The River Nemunas") and I would read those again. "The River Nemunas" was really moving and I got a legit lump in my throat at the end of that one. It was beautiful. Overall, kind of enjoyed the collection because I loved a couple of the stories in it, but I did not love the collection as a whole. If I could have just read "The River Nemunas," I would not have had to read the whole book. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars based on the two stories I really enjoyed.

klherring's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This collection was both heavy and refreshing. I'm not sure how that is possible, but Doerr manages it in a way that made me feel like I'll be coming back to a few of these stories again and again as they have haunted me since I finished reading them. There were several in this collection that were perfection and a couple that sort of bored me, though they certainly were well written and fit with the theme of the collection. I am anxious to check out more of this author's work!