hawk_just_hawk's review against another edition
3.0
DNF. I can only handle so much transphobic and homophobic language, even from a queer person. Also, Gurba’s writing seems unfocused. I never know where she is taking me and what I should focus on; the story arc is hard to find if it exists at all. I trust that in the end, she brings it all more or less together, but I couldn’t finish the rest of it. This makes me sad because I really do love her analysis, subject matter, and philosophies. Her word play is whimsical even if the topic is heavy, which I adore. If love to have some tea with her, but probably won’t read another book of hers for a while.
iolanthesteas's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hubes's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
saintmaud's review against another edition
less short stories, more of fragmentary pieces from life; some pieces did not hold up on their own and overall felt very lackluster.
rottenpumpkin's review against another edition
4.0
The collection as a whole, filled with witty prose and wordplay, magical characters and world-building, and insightful social analyses and philosophies, made for a thoroughly enjoyable read. Some short stories were better than others, but I enjoyed the story "Petra Paramo," so much I wrote and presented a research paper on its themes of queer feminist utopia. A few scenes in this story resonated with me so deeply, and withdrew such an inexplainable feeling of peace and intrigue and comfort, that I will never forget them.
deanna's review against another edition
3.0
*Content Warning*: Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories contains language that some may consider homophobic and transphobic.
Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories is a hard one to categorize. The book is regularly labeled as fiction all across the interwebs, but having already read author Myriam Gurba's Mean, I'm well aware how thoroughly she blurs the line between fact and fiction. I suspect that all of these short stories are rooted in the truth and born out of her real experiences as opposed to being purely formed from Gurba's imagination. But the origin of the stories doesn't actually matter. These are still stories being told by a storyteller, meant to entertain the reader and Gurba delivers, mostly.
There are a few stories that, at best, leave something to be desired or, at worst, feel unfinished (or contains inflammatory language that kind of sours the whole story). Maybe they are missing something or perhaps they're just a bit too surreal to be comprehendible. Though it's there, boiling under the surface, this particular work by Gurba doesn't showcase as much of her unrelenting wit as Mean. Nonetheless, it's always a treat to track the evolution of a writer's skill through their different published works.
Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories is a hard one to categorize. The book is regularly labeled as fiction all across the interwebs, but having already read author Myriam Gurba's Mean, I'm well aware how thoroughly she blurs the line between fact and fiction. I suspect that all of these short stories are rooted in the truth and born out of her real experiences as opposed to being purely formed from Gurba's imagination. But the origin of the stories doesn't actually matter. These are still stories being told by a storyteller, meant to entertain the reader and Gurba delivers, mostly.
There are a few stories that, at best, leave something to be desired or, at worst, feel unfinished (or contains inflammatory language that kind of sours the whole story). Maybe they are missing something or perhaps they're just a bit too surreal to be comprehendible. Though it's there, boiling under the surface, this particular work by Gurba doesn't showcase as much of her unrelenting wit as Mean. Nonetheless, it's always a treat to track the evolution of a writer's skill through their different published works.
amachattie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I love Gurba's writing so much. These stories weren't quite as stunning as Mean, but there was a lot in them nonetheless. I love the way that she can be writing about family and sex and death and grief and food all at once and somehow be capturing the essence of human existence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
synth's review
1.0
I really wanted to like this book and the first story hinted at so much potential.
Maybe it was just not my style of writing, maybe it just read as too self-congratulatory, maybe I was hoping for more than fictional retelling of disjointed childhood anecdotes.
Maybe it was just not my style of writing, maybe it just read as too self-congratulatory, maybe I was hoping for more than fictional retelling of disjointed childhood anecdotes.
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