tobesmagobes's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t usually read short stories but this collection got me for some reason and I’m so glad it did
lindy_b's review against another edition
4.0
When I finished reading this book I gave it three stars, but four months later I'm going back and adding another star on the basis that specific images from the stories are still vivid in my mind to the point I can smell them. Grudova's aesthetics unmoored in history and geography but that nonetheless strongly evoke (to me anyway) the desolation of northern England between the World Wars are well developed and singular.
porge_grewe's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is an interesting one to review - The prose is bold and clear, the stories are grim vignettes which each leave you with an indelible image or impression, even if they don't necessarily have a satisfying ending, and the setting of the stories is fascinatingly grim - It all has a sense of extreme poverty and gothic despair, like the intersection of George Orwell and Edward Gorey.
I would find it hard to recommend to anyone I know, however, as this thing is *dark* - Take heed of the content warnings! It also leans very hard on my least-favourite gothic trope of dwelling on how ugly everyone is as a reflection of their character - I understand its function for setting the scene and putting us in the mind of the narrator, but it still feels unnecessary.
Content warnings: <sp> domestic violence, infanticide, rape, murder, unwanted pregnancy, child sexual abuse, definitely more that I'm forgetting </sp>
I would find it hard to recommend to anyone I know, however, as this thing is *dark* - Take heed of the content warnings! It also leans very hard on my least-favourite gothic trope of dwelling on how ugly everyone is as a reflection of their character - I understand its function for setting the scene and putting us in the mind of the narrator, but it still feels unnecessary.
Content warnings: <sp> domestic violence, infanticide, rape, murder, unwanted pregnancy, child sexual abuse, definitely more that I'm forgetting </sp>
emcossey's review against another edition
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
deboraaahchu's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
dieumangedieu's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book is like no other book I've read. It's not often that I find a book with such a clear aesthetic world that evokes such a strong feeling throughout. I haven't found any other book that makes me feel icky like this one did, but i appreciate books that have imagery enough to make me feel like that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Excrement
Minor: Blood, Body horror, and Toxic friendship
lehete92's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
ajlct's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
soinavoice's review against another edition
4.0
Three and a half stars, rounding up to support a new author.
These stories are deeply weird, which is great, but tend unfortunately towards the samey in their weirdness. Of the eight longer stories (there are eleven stories total, but three of them are only a page or two in length), five center around the surreally squalid domestic life of women living on the fringe of a spatially and temporally indeterminate society, and those women's relationship issues with bizarre and unsatisfactory men. The voice didn't vary much between these stories, and they all kind of flowed together. They're also preoccupied with gender roles in a way that often feels bizarrely outdated. The stories as a whole are very interested in social difference based on sex, class, physical appearance, and education, but contain not even a nod to difference based on sexuality, race/ethnicity, or religion. I'm not saying that every writer *needs* to talk about ethnicity and sexuality, but that in this particular case, the complete and utter absence felt somehow... conspicuous.
On the whole though, the stories were enjoyably surreal and unsettling, and there were a few ("Waxy," "Agata's Machine," and "Notes from a Spider") that REALLY stood out.
Other reviewers have compared Camilla Grudova to Angela Carter, Franz Kafka, and Margaret Atwood, which I'd say is pretty accurate--perhaps a little too much so (not that the stories are derivative, but there's a strong enough feel of these authors that some of the weaker stories seemed to invite a not particularly flattering comparison). I'd be more inclined to call this collection "promising" than "accomplished," but there is both talent and substance enough here to make it worth the read, especially if you're a fan of any of the above authors. I'm interested to see what Camilla Grudova comes out with next--definitely putting her on my "authors to watch" list.
These stories are deeply weird, which is great, but tend unfortunately towards the samey in their weirdness. Of the eight longer stories (there are eleven stories total, but three of them are only a page or two in length), five center around the surreally squalid domestic life of women living on the fringe of a spatially and temporally indeterminate society, and those women's relationship issues with bizarre and unsatisfactory men. The voice didn't vary much between these stories, and they all kind of flowed together. They're also preoccupied with gender roles in a way that often feels bizarrely outdated. The stories as a whole are very interested in social difference based on sex, class, physical appearance, and education, but contain not even a nod to difference based on sexuality, race/ethnicity, or religion. I'm not saying that every writer *needs* to talk about ethnicity and sexuality, but that in this particular case, the complete and utter absence felt somehow... conspicuous.
On the whole though, the stories were enjoyably surreal and unsettling, and there were a few ("Waxy," "Agata's Machine," and "Notes from a Spider") that REALLY stood out.
Other reviewers have compared Camilla Grudova to Angela Carter, Franz Kafka, and Margaret Atwood, which I'd say is pretty accurate--perhaps a little too much so (not that the stories are derivative, but there's a strong enough feel of these authors that some of the weaker stories seemed to invite a not particularly flattering comparison). I'd be more inclined to call this collection "promising" than "accomplished," but there is both talent and substance enough here to make it worth the read, especially if you're a fan of any of the above authors. I'm interested to see what Camilla Grudova comes out with next--definitely putting her on my "authors to watch" list.