starbuck2233's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
3.0
cwalsh's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't love all of these stories, but I truly appreciated each one. There's a lot of variety in this collection, but each piece examines themes of privilege, memory, ethics, and heartbreak in a fresh way.
These stories are a bit on the long side (lookin' at you, Merge), almost novella length, but Eisenberg's ability to construct fulfilling characters with her subtly political, weird, and quirky style is unparalleled.
Favorites: Your Duck is My Duck, Taj Mahal, and Merge.
These stories are a bit on the long side (lookin' at you, Merge), almost novella length, but Eisenberg's ability to construct fulfilling characters with her subtly political, weird, and quirky style is unparalleled.
Favorites: Your Duck is My Duck, Taj Mahal, and Merge.
kow1728's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
clarkness's review against another edition
4.0
On getting older:
"The worst thing is, you're just not a part of the world any longer. When you're young, everyone is holding hands, all of your friends, even the people you don't like, everyone in the world. But at a certain point, when you get older, you float a little off the surface of the earth. Everyone is rising up off the surface of the earth. Everyone is farther away from one another. You can't hold hands any longer. You stretch out your hand, but you can't reach anyone else's. And when you look down, you see that what you thought was the world, is just a wrapping around the world, a loose, disintegrating wrapper with a faded picture of the world on it. The world is where young people live."
"The worst thing is, you're just not a part of the world any longer. When you're young, everyone is holding hands, all of your friends, even the people you don't like, everyone in the world. But at a certain point, when you get older, you float a little off the surface of the earth. Everyone is rising up off the surface of the earth. Everyone is farther away from one another. You can't hold hands any longer. You stretch out your hand, but you can't reach anyone else's. And when you look down, you see that what you thought was the world, is just a wrapping around the world, a loose, disintegrating wrapper with a faded picture of the world on it. The world is where young people live."
lenawadera's review against another edition
4.0
Pozycja zupełnie spoza mojej strefy komfortu, która usatysfakcjonowała mnie w (prawie) całej swojej rozciągłości. Było w niej coś niesłychanie świeżego i wsysającego. A takim hipnotyzującym rytmem przekładu można mnie karmić o każdej porze dnia i nocy!
czytomasz's review against another edition
2.0
Świetnie napisane opowiadania, ale niestety, odniosłem wrażenie, że to takie pisanie dla samego pisania. Treści nie ma tu zbyt wiele, raczej nie wyniosłem z tej książki niczego i nic ze mną nie zostanie na dłużej. Za każdym razem czytelnik wrzucany jest w sam środek jakiejś sytuacji, bez większego wyjaśnienia, zazwyczaj w środowiska klas wyższych lub związanych z artystyczną bohemą, gdzie łatwo jest zabłądzić w mnogości bohaterów. Nie jest to mój typ literatury, skąd moje delikatne „odbicie się” od książki, ale być może Wy dostrzeżecie w niej coś, czego ja nie widzę.
phg_q's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sydneyedens's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
overall fine - accessible stories, although none blew me away. enjoyed the various narrators. to be honest though, i couldn’t finish “merge” - the main pov was too annoying lol. taj mahal was my fave