ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
So good that I considered giving the rare 5-star rating, then talked myself into 4, then felt bad and went for it. 5-stars! Normally I'd have to be emotionally moved to let my mouse drift over onto that final star and click, but as funny and delightful and charming as Lulu is, she doesn't make me cry. But I'm intellectually moved (if that can be a thing) but how clever and well-done these stories are. I love the breath and space of them (many could be essentially told in one or two pages, but with ten or twelve pages, rather than feeling stretched out, they fit perfectly.
Lulu's attitude is perfectly modern in most ways. She's a young Becky Sharp, refusing to take what life gives her when she is perfectly capable of going after whatever she personally wants. She makes an effort, she calls out stupidity, she's creative and innovative, and she's caring. And in Tubby, she has a perfect foil/friend.
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
Lulu's attitude is perfectly modern in most ways. She's a young Becky Sharp, refusing to take what life gives her when she is perfectly capable of going after whatever she personally wants. She makes an effort, she calls out stupidity, she's creative and innovative, and she's caring. And in Tubby, she has a perfect foil/friend.
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know what else to say. These are terrific, and this volume in particular had some of my (new) favourites. Stanley managed to strike a near-perfect balance of the banal and the magical, and both are equally interesting, whether writing about carrying eggs home, or living in a home with one super-scary door. The editors hint at great things to come in the next volume, so (glancing at the publication date of 2021) it seems I can expect more in the future! Fingers crossed.
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
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