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owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
‘She rolled over to the tree stump and opened her laptop, hoping to find some message from Roger, a love note scrawled in a Word document. But there was nothing. Later, when she was back in cell service, Meg would check her phone and find a photo Roger had sent the night before — at 8:35 P.M., when she had been in the bathroom at the restaurant—of a cocker spaniel wearing a straw panama hat. The message had gone through on Roger's end, meaning that wherever he and his phone had vanished to, there was cell service. She replied with a heart emoji, hoping he would respond, but hours and days passed, and he never did. She would keep texting Roger for years, even after she had begun dating the man she would marry and moved to a suburb of Seattle, where they started a family. She wanted to keep him updated, hoping that wherever he was, whatever blot hive mind he'd been absorbed into, some ember of his consciousness could still see her messages, even if he could never respond.’
I loved this! Not all of the stories compelled me to the same degree but Folk does have a consistently fluid and charismatic writing style. My favourite stories were probably Out There, A Scale Model of Gull Point and Big Sur. Big Sur was my absolute favourite. After a collection of relatively cynical stories, playing the ‘blot’ concept / world-building completely straight was very emotional and I was tearing up at the end. Roger, my beloved bisexual robot.
I loved this! Not all of the stories compelled me to the same degree but Folk does have a consistently fluid and charismatic writing style. My favourite stories were probably Out There, A Scale Model of Gull Point and Big Sur. Big Sur was my absolute favourite. After a collection of relatively cynical stories, playing the ‘blot’ concept / world-building completely straight was very emotional and I was tearing up at the end. Roger, my beloved bisexual robot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
frankieclc's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Mental illness
meagangrace's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Body horror, Stalking, and Alcohol
jmbibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
SO BIZARRE, but I could not stop reading. I both loved and hated when Kate would end a story abruptly at a tense moment. It was very unsettling (and unsatisfying at times), but it worked so well for this group of stories. The last story is in the same world as the first, and they are a complete contrast of one other, which I thought was a smart and creative way to end this book. Overall, I definitely recommend if you like weird or want to try something completely different. These stories will stick with you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Violence, and Medical trauma
Minor: Death
deedireads's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Out There is a collection of the exact kind of short stories I love: punchy, speculative, feminist, metaphorical, and weird. Kate Folk is definitely on my watchlist now!
For you if: You like weird short stories with strong metaphors.
FULL REVIEW:
Thank you Random House for the advanced review copy of this book! I had such a good time diving in and out of these weird, speculative, feminist short stories. In fact, these are my exact favorite kinds of stories.
If you like weird, speculative stories, you’ll like this collection as well. It opens with the title story, which takes place in a world/future where women have to be wary of accidentally dating “blots,” aka artificial men who lure them on a trip to Big Sur to steal their identities. The final story in the collection returns to this world, too, which was delightful. Other examples include grad students living in a house that’s alive, a woman who takes her desperation not to be alone a step too far in a medical ward where she’s being treated for nightly bone melting, and a woman fleeing the apocalypse determined not to go into the afterlife tethered to anyone else.
The stories are well placed and nicely arranged, with super-short ones interspersed with medium and long ones. Kate Folk has a talent for pulling on the string of a metaphor until it’s taut and humming. Also, just a warning: Several of these stories rely on what could be considered body horror — their weirdness is tied to organs, or the central metaphor uses bodies as a symbol for something else. I thought this was really well done, but if you’re particularly squeamish just keep that in mind.
Kate Folk is definitely on my author watchlist now!
TL;DR REVIEW:
Out There is a collection of the exact kind of short stories I love: punchy, speculative, feminist, metaphorical, and weird. Kate Folk is definitely on my watchlist now!
For you if: You like weird short stories with strong metaphors.
FULL REVIEW:
Thank you Random House for the advanced review copy of this book! I had such a good time diving in and out of these weird, speculative, feminist short stories. In fact, these are my exact favorite kinds of stories.
If you like weird, speculative stories, you’ll like this collection as well. It opens with the title story, which takes place in a world/future where women have to be wary of accidentally dating “blots,” aka artificial men who lure them on a trip to Big Sur to steal their identities. The final story in the collection returns to this world, too, which was delightful. Other examples include grad students living in a house that’s alive, a woman who takes her desperation not to be alone a step too far in a medical ward where she’s being treated for nightly bone melting, and a woman fleeing the apocalypse determined not to go into the afterlife tethered to anyone else.
The stories are well placed and nicely arranged, with super-short ones interspersed with medium and long ones. Kate Folk has a talent for pulling on the string of a metaphor until it’s taut and humming. Also, just a warning: Several of these stories rely on what could be considered body horror — their weirdness is tied to organs, or the central metaphor uses bodies as a symbol for something else. I thought this was really well done, but if you’re particularly squeamish just keep that in mind.
Kate Folk is definitely on my author watchlist now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Violence
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