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Reviews tagging 'Medical content'
Furies: Stories of the Wicked, Wild and Untamed by Margaret Atwood
1 review
m_papaya's review against another edition
4.75
I liked this collection so much! There was a wide variety in approaches to the common topic, narrative style, and scope, and I really enjoyed that! The best of the collection are just what I think a short story should be: carefully constructed, deceptively focused, and delivering an afterimage strong enough to leave you thinking about it for days afterwards.
I had to pace myself because some of these stories are heavy, but reading this collection is well worth the time required! Despite the extensive content warnings listed, the authors care of their readers. These stories are not trauma porn. Not all of them were as memorable as the others (and in some I didn't arrive with the author at the same conclusions), but it was always an interesting ride.
I also felt the editor did a wonderful job ordering the stories, beginning with a kind of blustery, goofy Margaret Atwood piece (a goofy Margaret Atwood piece?!) and ending with a story that asks what if there was a tooth fairy mentor type for people experiencing menopause, but it was a dragon instead? There's magical realism. There's religious trauma. And all over there are women who are triumphant and tired and hopeful and angry and curious and queer and trying-their-best and living together and arguing and taking care of each other. One of my favorite stories is a historical fiction piece that honors one of the first recorded cases of a trans man (mostly) permitted to live his life despite the interference of prejudiced court systems.
Ramble over, but this one's a keeper, and I'm likely to come back!
I had to pace myself because some of these stories are heavy, but reading this collection is well worth the time required! Despite the extensive content warnings listed, the authors care of their readers. These stories are not trauma porn. Not all of them were as memorable as the others (and in some I didn't arrive with the author at the same conclusions), but it was always an interesting ride.
I also felt the editor did a wonderful job ordering the stories, beginning with a kind of blustery, goofy Margaret Atwood piece (a goofy Margaret Atwood piece?!) and ending with a story that asks what if there was a tooth fairy mentor type for people experiencing menopause, but it was a dragon instead? There's magical realism. There's religious trauma. And all over there are women who are triumphant and tired and hopeful and angry and curious and queer and trying-their-best and living together and arguing and taking care of each other. One of my favorite stories is a historical fiction piece that honors one of the first recorded cases of a trans man (mostly) permitted to live his life despite the interference of prejudiced court systems.
Ramble over, but this one's a keeper, and I'm likely to come back!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
While some pretty heavy topics are covered, this collection does not seem interested in making horrible things "happen for a reason," which I consider a plus. Instead, the difficulties are acknowledgements of realities and invitations to sit awhile with the people living in them, to get to know them and love them in 20 pages or less.
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