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chasegirl's review against another edition
5.0
As someone who discovered Freudenberger on the most beautiful of whims— being handed an Advanced Reader’s Copy of her novel Lost and Wanted at the age of 14 at a book convention— and finally reading it four years later at the age of 18— it was fascinating to discover through the reviews on this ancient website and other online sources the nonsense “controversy” that surrounded her in her early years. Jealousy is vicious, a young, attractive woman in an academic field is exactly ripe for that sort of thing. It did shock me a little, though— all I knew of Nell was that she was semi-obscure, married, and taught writing in The Bronx. I’m sure I would’ve sided with her anyway, but I do wonder. As someone with neither an MfA or an ambient belief in the inherent inferiority of intellect in the face of beauty, I hope I would have been fine.
Freudenberger’s stories in this collection touched me deeply, each of them, stories of love. The dual perspectives in The Tutor, my favorite story, was one of my favorite of her literary tricks; the same situation is alternately sweet, slightly notable, and teenage and cosmic, huge, and all-consuming. Its closing moments remain sweet and emotionally real.
The final story made me cry.
The rest are excellent too, The Orphan frustrating in a way that lets you know you care, Lucky Girls sad but never somber, Outside the Eastern Gate about what its missing.
In many ways the stories are the same. At the end of my book, in an interview, Freudenberger names David Mitchell one of her favorite writers. In many ways, this is her Cloud Atlas.
Freudenberger’s stories in this collection touched me deeply, each of them, stories of love. The dual perspectives in The Tutor, my favorite story, was one of my favorite of her literary tricks; the same situation is alternately sweet, slightly notable, and teenage and cosmic, huge, and all-consuming. Its closing moments remain sweet and emotionally real.
The final story made me cry.
The rest are excellent too, The Orphan frustrating in a way that lets you know you care, Lucky Girls sad but never somber, Outside the Eastern Gate about what its missing.
In many ways the stories are the same. At the end of my book, in an interview, Freudenberger names David Mitchell one of her favorite writers. In many ways, this is her Cloud Atlas.
buttercupita's review against another edition
3.0
I liked several of the stories in this collection, but couldn't finish the last one. All treated interesting issues of displacement -- I particularly liked the one about a crumbling family's reunion in Thailand, another about the troubled relationship between an American girl and her erratic mother in India, and a third about the interaction between a sub-continent born but American educated tutor to a privileged American girl (Sorry, can't find my copy of the book so don't have chapter titles.)
bekahnowak's review against another edition
4.0
I usually don't like short stories, but I really liked this one.
lukedaloop's review against another edition
2.0
I mean, it's not bad. I just didn't enjoy it. They weren't stories I cared about, and they format didn't enable enough time to really develop the characters enough to make me care over the course of them.
glendaleereads's review against another edition
3.0
The first and last stories were my favorite. The other two in between left me confused and bored and rushing to their ending.
minvanwin's review against another edition
2.0
These stories fell flat. Nothing ever quite rang true, though many moments came close. It was frustrating because while the writing was quite competent, the stories didn't carry the emotional weight they promised. Maybe tomorrow I'll reconsider and give this 3 stars instead of 2, but I don't imagine any of the stories really resonating for that long.
kikiramone's review against another edition
4.0
Stories are a bit uneven, but I really loved her writing and character studies. So glad this was a long-owned book that quarantine forced me to pick up off my shelf. Definitely hoping to read more of her!
crazytourists_books's review against another edition
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A lovely short story, but too short, unfortunately. I wanted more...
litjrzygrl's review against another edition
2.0
I feel like I missed something in each of the stories.