samagra's review
3.0
i love reading about stem and brandon taylor has a real talent for writing about it (the lionel and charles story arc tho…this should have been a novel solely devoted to them imo)
monasterymonochrome's review
4.0
The stories in this collection are incredibly subtle. If you're expecting anything too action-packed or plot-centered, this probably isn't the book for you. However, Brandon Taylor excels at writing realistic and nuanced interactions between characters and exposing the complex inner workings of his characters' overanalytical and self-doubting minds in ways that often feel too close for comfort. I thought the structure of this book was well thought-out and made it more engaging than your typical short story collection. About half the stories form a sort of novella centered on a series of increasingly uncomfortable encounters between three characters, and they're interspersed among other self-contained stories. Last year, I read Casey Plett's A Dream of a Woman, which was similarly structured, so I guess that's just an approach I enjoy in general. Overall, though, my favorite story here was probably one of the stand-alones, the penultimate story, "What Made Them Made You," which I thought was very rich and poignant.
reprobatereader's review
Ah god, this was good. Perfect depictions of the messiness of being a human who is alive in this world, plus really wonderful, careful prose that made me go "whew" countless times and also made reading this an (imaginary) visual treat.
dmbulaiteye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
valeribanana's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
katharina90's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.0
I couldn't get into this to save my life.
kater_tot's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
samarakroeger's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I loved the Lionel/Charles/Sophie stories — and the structure of the collection meant I was invested in reading the book the whole way through. a few of the other random stories I didn’t really get into very much, but I really liked Anne of Cleves.
I will read anything Brandon Taylor writes.
I will read anything Brandon Taylor writes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Self harm, Cancer, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt