kruu_dao's review
dark
3.0
The short stories in the first section are quite disparate, in that the author is clearly trying to achieve something different in each one in terms of voice and literacy device. I appreciated the variance, and there were a few stories which I was thoroughly interested in. The Red Wheelbarrow and The Double were the standouts, and for those, I actually wanted more exploration of the characters and setting and themes. In fact, I would probably have preferred The Double to be a novella of that particular story.
Two elements I found frustrating, however, is that there was often a lot of repetition, which is not my favourite device, and the depictions of women were generally very unflattering and bordering on misogynistic. I also can't say that I was a fan of including a certain young man's preferred method of self-pleasuring.
The second section, however, is wildly different and this is where I lost interest. The interconnected stories were cleverly written and the satire also shone through, but I think it works best for a niche audience of academics who can best appreciate its awkwardly true humour. Printing it in a series of newspaper articles or columns would have been a better medium for it.
tessaays's review
2.0
These just didn’t work for me. A few of the stories were great in isolation but the collection didn’t come together. I actually DNF, it lost my attention towards the end.
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