mcomer's review against another edition
3.0
This was okay. The stories center around people in the 'Global South', but most of them seem to be white people in places like Australia - so they are technically from the Global South, but it's really not as diverse a group of voices as it's marketed to be. The first stories were the best ones - "To the Volcano," which actually has a diverse set of characters and deals with possible magic as well as mental illness, in an environment of inequality, was probably the best. Afterwards, it was more like eating too many cookies from the same box - the stories had a certain stale sameness. I also thought "Synthetic Orange" used the refugee crisis as an inappropriate mirror for coming-of-age growing pains - it was very distasteful. All in all, the collection is fine - I wouldn't go out of my way to read it.
shauna845's review against another edition
3.0
It is a nice collection of short stories. The stories are not exactly uplifting, and one or two I found a little confusing, but I enjoyed them.
georgies5's review against another edition
3.0
“To the Volcano and Other Stories” written by Elleke Boehmer, consists of 12 stories in 175 pages, all exploring the rich dimensions of the lives of normal, individual, fictional characters. Boehmer’s characters are highly relatable, and much like many of us, they are constantly being pulled in many different directions, the past, present and the future. Shrouded in mystery, these characters contain complicated histories and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering and learning with them.
I received this book as part of a treat box I bought from Books That Matter (much love). I would not have initially selected this book given the choice, as I do not tend to choose short stories, much less, a collection of short stories. However, I feel that this type of book has been a godsend as I haven’t had as much time to read recently, and I can easily pick up this book from where I left it without worrying too much about losing my place.
In some of the stories, you feel so captivated that it is hard to believe that you progress with the character in the span of 10-15 pages. However, there are some stories that do not progress in the same pace as others and, to be honest, the impact left can feel underwhelming. I feel that some of the tales could have been removed, and in their place, some of the other existing storied could have been expanded on. That being said, the lack of development in some stories were made up in the chaos and excitement in others.
My favourite of the short stories was “Paper Planes” where the protagonist is an elderly lady spending time with one of her grandchildren in a nursing home. This story is bittersweet, and the emotion is delivered with grace, dignity, and elegance. The tale also touches on the hardships of dementia, and softly pulls on the heartstrings through the relationship the protagonist has with her grandchild.
Another story that touched me personally is “The Mood That I’m In”. In this story, Paul and Anne meet in a retirement home. Much to Paul’s family dismay, he gifts Anne his late wife’s precious pearl earrings. In addition to this, he also proposes only after shortly meeting her. After Paul dies, Anne very quickly moves on to a new lover. Initially, you would have thought that Anne is a heartless person, but Boehmer convinces us that Anne is just simply living her life and doing her thing. This story serves as a reminder that life is not all what it appears to be and conjures feelings of empathy and connections to characters you would not usually relate to.
Boehmer’s “To the Volcano” is a gift to all that read it, evoking a journey of discovery of hardships like unrequited love, pain of parenting, grief, and separation, if only each story was a little lo
I received this book as part of a treat box I bought from Books That Matter (much love). I would not have initially selected this book given the choice, as I do not tend to choose short stories, much less, a collection of short stories. However, I feel that this type of book has been a godsend as I haven’t had as much time to read recently, and I can easily pick up this book from where I left it without worrying too much about losing my place.
In some of the stories, you feel so captivated that it is hard to believe that you progress with the character in the span of 10-15 pages. However, there are some stories that do not progress in the same pace as others and, to be honest, the impact left can feel underwhelming. I feel that some of the tales could have been removed, and in their place, some of the other existing storied could have been expanded on. That being said, the lack of development in some stories were made up in the chaos and excitement in others.
My favourite of the short stories was “Paper Planes” where the protagonist is an elderly lady spending time with one of her grandchildren in a nursing home. This story is bittersweet, and the emotion is delivered with grace, dignity, and elegance. The tale also touches on the hardships of dementia, and softly pulls on the heartstrings through the relationship the protagonist has with her grandchild.
Another story that touched me personally is “The Mood That I’m In”. In this story, Paul and Anne meet in a retirement home. Much to Paul’s family dismay, he gifts Anne his late wife’s precious pearl earrings. In addition to this, he also proposes only after shortly meeting her. After Paul dies, Anne very quickly moves on to a new lover. Initially, you would have thought that Anne is a heartless person, but Boehmer convinces us that Anne is just simply living her life and doing her thing. This story serves as a reminder that life is not all what it appears to be and conjures feelings of empathy and connections to characters you would not usually relate to.
Boehmer’s “To the Volcano” is a gift to all that read it, evoking a journey of discovery of hardships like unrequited love, pain of parenting, grief, and separation, if only each story was a little lo
silverliningsandpages's review against another edition
4.0
If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I’m relatively new to reading short stories, but To The Volcano by Elleke Boehmer is the best collection I’ve read yet!
These stories delve into characters in different continents from the perspective of the Southern Hemisphere. It’s tricky to review an entire collection here, but the author insightfully explores past traumas, disappointments, dreams, ambitions and self-knowledge. The language is richly evocative and loaded with sensory information, in particularly vivid, striking colours. Some of these stories were very cinematic and I’d love to have read on beyond their final pages- the sign of a good short story?!
.
The three which stood out for me were:
These stories delve into characters in different continents from the perspective of the Southern Hemisphere. It’s tricky to review an entire collection here, but the author insightfully explores past traumas, disappointments, dreams, ambitions and self-knowledge. The language is richly evocative and loaded with sensory information, in particularly vivid, striking colours. Some of these stories were very cinematic and I’d love to have read on beyond their final pages- the sign of a good short story?!
.
The three which stood out for me were:
jessicafulton's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
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