desirosie's review against another edition
5.0
Most of these stories were brutal and heartbreaking, but they were all so well done. They were all very strong.
readyeveryday's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
blchandler9000's review against another edition
4.0
This is an excellently written collection of stories. One of them may be added to my mental list of "Best Short Stories I Ever Read."
The stories here are mostly tragic or unhappy ones, tales of people trying to get over the past or plow through the present. Boys and girls come of age, adults nurse their wounds, and sometimes they catch a glimmer of healing or briefly escape in the tangles of their lives.
The real power behind the writing here is how Jones describes feelings. The emotions are raw, real, and extremely poignant. Jones created layers of feelings for her characters to experience, digest, and balance, and often I was pulled in to feel with them.
I was really impressed by this book.
The stories here are mostly tragic or unhappy ones, tales of people trying to get over the past or plow through the present. Boys and girls come of age, adults nurse their wounds, and sometimes they catch a glimmer of healing or briefly escape in the tangles of their lives.
The real power behind the writing here is how Jones describes feelings. The emotions are raw, real, and extremely poignant. Jones created layers of feelings for her characters to experience, digest, and balance, and often I was pulled in to feel with them.
I was really impressed by this book.
lilly_bakker's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories about small town living. I would have given it 5 stars but the last short story was really dark and hard to read….. Didn’t think I was a short story gal. But I might be after this read.
quilly14's review against another edition
4.0
Sad stories about the residents of Roma, Kentucky. Lots of secrets, and lots of dealing with them poorly.
mryjne's review against another edition
4.0
very pleased with this read. even though some of the stories i kind of had to fight through i cant ignore how they made me feel.
vreadsabook's review against another edition
5.0
I began reading this book as a recommendation from a professor at my school, who read the work after Jones guest-taught at my college for a semester. I was completely blown away, and read the book from start to finish over three days, in spite of it being possibly the most stressful time in my college career.
The book is about a fictional small town in central to western Kentucky, called Roma. I myself am from a very small town in western Kentucky and found myself utterly gripped by just how accurately Jones writes about life here. So many times I felt myself wanting to scream, "I know!" at the book, just on the pure basis of it being so much like my own childhood. It's also a very good setting for the book, which in very subtle ways is about the interconnectedness of people that is often too sharply in focus in small-town life. I am curious, however, to see how these various elements read to someone who is not familiar with small-town Kentucky life, and whether they resonate or are simply foreign.
That said, the book is ultimately a book about betrayal, typically betrayals in the relationships we tend to place the most value on, those between men and women. The sensitivity with which Jones writes, however, makes the betrayal subtle, just as natural and accidental as most betrayals are. In fact, I was halfway through the book before I realized that was one of the key unifying themes. Jones even manages to somehow put into her text a betrayal I, and surely others have often felt: the deep-seated guilt of a betrayal in thought alone. The type of guilt derived from thought is perhaps one of the hardest ones to express. Jones clearly feels a deep understanding and sensitivity toward all of the characters in her stories, and all of the betrayals, in spite of the blame, become tragedies and loss for everyone. The victims and the perpetrators are left equally broken and all that can be lamented is the sadness of being human. This is not at all a happy book, but it is very deep and true. I am very pleased I read it, at times felt as if Jones was literally writing my own thoughts. I hope to read it again in the future.
The book is about a fictional small town in central to western Kentucky, called Roma. I myself am from a very small town in western Kentucky and found myself utterly gripped by just how accurately Jones writes about life here. So many times I felt myself wanting to scream, "I know!" at the book, just on the pure basis of it being so much like my own childhood. It's also a very good setting for the book, which in very subtle ways is about the interconnectedness of people that is often too sharply in focus in small-town life. I am curious, however, to see how these various elements read to someone who is not familiar with small-town Kentucky life, and whether they resonate or are simply foreign.
That said, the book is ultimately a book about betrayal, typically betrayals in the relationships we tend to place the most value on, those between men and women. The sensitivity with which Jones writes, however, makes the betrayal subtle, just as natural and accidental as most betrayals are. In fact, I was halfway through the book before I realized that was one of the key unifying themes. Jones even manages to somehow put into her text a betrayal I, and surely others have often felt: the deep-seated guilt of a betrayal in thought alone. The type of guilt derived from thought is perhaps one of the hardest ones to express. Jones clearly feels a deep understanding and sensitivity toward all of the characters in her stories, and all of the betrayals, in spite of the blame, become tragedies and loss for everyone. The victims and the perpetrators are left equally broken and all that can be lamented is the sadness of being human. This is not at all a happy book, but it is very deep and true. I am very pleased I read it, at times felt as if Jones was literally writing my own thoughts. I hope to read it again in the future.
parttimerarebookdealer's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
anndouglas's review
5.0
A truly remarkable collection of short stories. Holly Goddard Jones has a gift for injecting sensitive characters into impossible situations. The results are mesmerizing.
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