booksbythecup's review
“Dr. Raeburn would never realize that “pretending” was what had got me this far. I remembered the morning of my mother’s funeral. I’d been given milk to settle my stomach; I’d pretended it was coffee. I imagined I was drinking coffee elsewhere.” —Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, Z. Z. Packer
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Can a short story collection be like steeping tea? Clearly I won't be drinking coffee elsewhere but tea, yes, I could see myself drinking it elsewhere, well maybe.
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Of course, I compare lots of things to tea, so yes, you have to steep both in a way that will allow you to enhance your experience.
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There were moments I laughed other times I tried to just think about the lives of the people in the stories. Which as I'm writing this caption feels like one of the takeaways after reading DCE.
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I might not have allowed each story to steep properly. Perhaps it was because mentally and emotionally I was not in a place where I could engage with the stories the way I usually do. But at the same time I wanted to read something, and this collection came through on my library holds, felt like just what I needed.
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The people in these stories allowed me a measure of escapism but also left me feeling like there was a lot in their lives that looks very familiar in our lives today. One of my favorite was Our Lady of Peace. I wonder about Lynnea and Sheba what happened to both of them long after the story ends.
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Can a short story collection be like steeping tea? Clearly I won't be drinking coffee elsewhere but tea, yes, I could see myself drinking it elsewhere, well maybe.
-
Of course, I compare lots of things to tea, so yes, you have to steep both in a way that will allow you to enhance your experience.
-
There were moments I laughed other times I tried to just think about the lives of the people in the stories. Which as I'm writing this caption feels like one of the takeaways after reading DCE.
-
I might not have allowed each story to steep properly. Perhaps it was because mentally and emotionally I was not in a place where I could engage with the stories the way I usually do. But at the same time I wanted to read something, and this collection came through on my library holds, felt like just what I needed.
-
The people in these stories allowed me a measure of escapism but also left me feeling like there was a lot in their lives that looks very familiar in our lives today. One of my favorite was Our Lady of Peace. I wonder about Lynnea and Sheba what happened to both of them long after the story ends.
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monster_maven's review against another edition
4.0
I'm finding myself reading more and more short stories. Loved the perspective of all these stories and their all to too real life struggles and conclusions.
modernfalafel's review
3.0
Bleak, dark, at times sloth like but all together clean and sharp. Packer has a great observational ability, and I sped through some stories. Her timing can be good at times. A good reminder that stories need to be brittle.
jmiae's review
5.0
I took my time reading this lovely collection of short stories, in an attempt to savour the prose and prolong the time I spent with each character. Gorgeous, vivid writing that is astonishingly descriptive without feeling clunky or overwrought. Incredibly memorable and sympathetic characters. I never cease to marvel at how writers of short stories can craft the perfect way to end their short stories without making the endings feel too abrupt or incomplete.
It's tempting to describe these vignettes as "slice of life" stories, but the term evokes - for me, at least - a sort of bucolic sensibility that doesn't do justice to the experiences of the characters depicted. This is not to say that these are dark stories. There is humour and levity but it's juxtaposed and often embedded within stories about Black people, particularly Black women, in the American South and second tier urban cities along the East Coast, as well as an exploration of being a Black women in Tokyo. So it's not so simple as "slice of life". But to explore the complexities of each short story and attempt to suss out why this collection reads so beautifully would require a much longer and painstaking process that I don't want to subject any readers (or myself) to.
It's tempting to describe these vignettes as "slice of life" stories, but the term evokes - for me, at least - a sort of bucolic sensibility that doesn't do justice to the experiences of the characters depicted. This is not to say that these are dark stories. There is humour and levity but it's juxtaposed and often embedded within stories about Black people, particularly Black women, in the American South and second tier urban cities along the East Coast, as well as an exploration of being a Black women in Tokyo. So it's not so simple as "slice of life". But to explore the complexities of each short story and attempt to suss out why this collection reads so beautifully would require a much longer and painstaking process that I don't want to subject any readers (or myself) to.
miamickut's review
4.0
Couldn’t put it down-Finished this during quiet work day. Most of these short stories are really quite great and left wanting much, much more.
mskennedyreads's review
4.0
I read this for a summer book club and I absolutely loved the stories - the voices are so distinctive, the interiority so authentic, the stories very unexpected. I loved the complicated omnipresent Christianity.
lulu365's review against another edition
3.0
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by Z.Z. Packard
(AA Fiction (Short Stories) = 3.5/5)
Good collection of short stories. The author’s use of metaphors in her writing is amazing. Some of the stories are better than others, but the abrupt ending on some of the better stories was a deal breaker for me.
(AA Fiction (Short Stories) = 3.5/5)
Good collection of short stories. The author’s use of metaphors in her writing is amazing. Some of the stories are better than others, but the abrupt ending on some of the better stories was a deal breaker for me.
izzyruby's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes short stories can drag for me or start to meld together but each story felt very much its own bag and equally engaging. I was going to put here which ones I liked the most but then kept adding stories so I think that speaks for itself.