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house_of_hannah's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.0
The stories start out rooted in reality, but each one is more surreal than the last until it just gets to where I have no idea what is happening anymore. After reading the first two stories I really had high hopes for this book, but then the last three stories felt quite similar to each other, and either fell flat, or I just straight up couldn't figure out what was going on. At the end of the book there are author explanations for each story, and I really thought this would give me some insight, but sadly that was not the case.
The Coral Reef - You can feel the desperation. 4 stars
Gunboat on the Yangtze - This one made me very uncomfortable, but I also found it to be fascinating. 4 stars
The Back Streets of Hoi An - I can't remember this story at all. I have absolutely no feelings towards it.
Nha Nam - This is where things started getting a bit too surreal. I am also neutral towards this story.
The Dragon Hunt - I didn't understand what was happening for a majority of this one. Where I could understand the purpose of the rape in the other story, this one felt out of the blue, and I hated every moment. 1 star.
As you can see the stories here range from being quite good to forgettable. I'd probably only recommend this to people who have read and enjoyed other works from this author.
The Coral Reef - You can feel the desperation. 4 stars
Gunboat on the Yangtze - This one made me very uncomfortable, but I also found it to be fascinating. 4 stars
The Back Streets of Hoi An - I can't remember this story at all. I have absolutely no feelings towards it.
Nha Nam - This is where things started getting a bit too surreal. I am also neutral towards this story.
The Dragon Hunt - I didn't understand what was happening for a majority of this one. Where I could understand the purpose of the rape in the other story, this one felt out of the blue, and I hated every moment. 1 star.
As you can see the stories here range from being quite good to forgettable. I'd probably only recommend this to people who have read and enjoyed other works from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Rape, and Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence
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