maekay's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
Short story collections tend to have a few great stories, a few bad ones, and a lot of meh ones. This collection has two good ones and the rest was a flaming pile of uncomfortable sh*t. The few gems in this collection can't save it from the blatant attempt at provocation/edgy-ness that relies on borderline incest, ephebophilia, exclusively abusive queer relationships, and Asian racism.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Stalking, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Animal death
forbes's review
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A collection of unconnected short stories with a wide cast of characters. Strange choices for plots and thoughts that inexplicably make sense sometimes and other times left me as tangled as the characters. Focuses on the human experience but through the lens of 'loner' type characters who seem separate to the world around them - as well as plots that would not be commonplace in normal life but somehow, in the very vaguest sense, relatable.
Spoiler
(e.g. a woman falling asleep on a man having an epileptic fit as opposed to helping him)Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
zahraa_aj's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
"They wordlessly excused each other for not loving each other as much as they had planned to. "
This was bizarre, to say the least. I found the themes behind some of the stories quite disturbing and would recommend checking TheStoryGraph TW for this one.
The writing style was very interesting and I wanted to read more of her works, the topics are unexpected and told in a peculiar manner but are extremely realistic in nature, which I think is what made me enjoy it.
This was bizarre, to say the least. I found the themes behind some of the stories quite disturbing and would recommend checking TheStoryGraph TW for this one.
The writing style was very interesting and I wanted to read more of her works, the topics are unexpected and told in a peculiar manner but are extremely realistic in nature, which I think is what made me enjoy it.
Graphic: Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
bookishdov's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Body shaming, and Racism
More...