pharmdad2007's review
4.0
Dunlap's stories are irreverent, unabashed, and hilarious. They never failed to surprise and sometimes even shock. Will definitely read more.
ladyreading365's review
5.0
This was a fantastic collection of short stories. Each one was better than the last. I loved the quality of the stories and the fact that each of these stories could me make into its on 5 star book. I loved the footnotes they were so useful and gave the book an extra depth to it. I love the fact that each story had that one shocking moment that you don't see coming. Each story includes something controversial and is dealt with in extraordinary ways. There was never a dull moment in the entire book. I listened to the audio version of this book. I found the narrator added so much to else stories adding a great sense of atmosphere. He was perfect for this collection. I must note that I wasn't overly impressed with the cover though. However the title alone drew me into wanting to read this book. The title was so fitting to this book it was so clever. I will definitely be keeping my eye open for more titles by this author.
I would like to thank the author and publishers for bringing us such an amazing and very cleverly wrote collection of short storys really bring them to life.
I would like to thank the author and publishers for bringing us such an amazing and very cleverly wrote collection of short storys really bring them to life.
garlinds's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
1.5
I received a free audiobook from NetGalley and Books Forward Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Lying and Making a Living is a collection of shocking and often jarring short stories. From a presidential debate gone wrong to a dog/man in a dream state getting hit by a dump truck, these stories are unique offer a wide variety of social commentary. Some of the stories left me cringing, while others had me laughing, and I particularly enjoyed the footnotes.
All that being said, I didn't like this short story collection. It seems well-received, so this is likely a case of me being from the wrong audience or the audiobook formatting not working for me. Dunlap was definitely trying to push the envelope and make the reader feel discomfort, but that discomfort was sustained for nearly the entire collection which made it difficult for me to immerse myself in the stories but still intrigued enough to finish listening. I also found some of the content quite triggering, so a list of content warnings probably would have deterred me altogether.
CW: Sexual violence, animal death/cruelty, toxic relationship, blood, bullying, child abuse, death, gore, gun violence, mass shooting, hate crime, misogyny, racial slurs, medical content
Lying and Making a Living is a collection of shocking and often jarring short stories. From a presidential debate gone wrong to a dog/man in a dream state getting hit by a dump truck, these stories are unique offer a wide variety of social commentary. Some of the stories left me cringing, while others had me laughing, and I particularly enjoyed the footnotes.
All that being said, I didn't like this short story collection. It seems well-received, so this is likely a case of me being from the wrong audience or the audiobook formatting not working for me. Dunlap was definitely trying to push the envelope and make the reader feel discomfort, but that discomfort was sustained for nearly the entire collection which made it difficult for me to immerse myself in the stories but still intrigued enough to finish listening. I also found some of the content quite triggering, so a list of content warnings probably would have deterred me altogether.
CW: Sexual violence, animal death/cruelty, toxic relationship, blood, bullying, child abuse, death, gore, gun violence, mass shooting, hate crime, misogyny, racial slurs, medical content
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
taketwolu's review
Though I am usually a fan of short stories, I couldn’t really connect with this and unfortunately DNF’d. I’m not sure if it was just my disconnect, but I found it hard to wrap my head around what was happening, though that might be the footnotes which I couldn’t really distinguish. Each story was a bit controversial for the shock factor which isn’t my cup of tea. I do like that the pieces were fairly short and quick, and the narrator was pleasant to listen to as well. This kind of reminds me of Sedaris’s essays so readers who like that might like this, just not for me.
Thank you NetGalley for my copy.
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