andrearbooks's review against another edition
2.0
She Was Like That: New and Selected Stories by Kate Walbert was not for me. The actual technical writing was good, but from a connection end, I wasn't there. I can appreciate the sentences that were written, but I didn't ever feel anything as it relates to what was shared. I am someone who likes a story with depth of character as the driver of a story, and these short stories just aren't that. It's hard for me to even review this one because there wasn't ever anything that "stuck" with me from the stories. The summary of this book (and actually why I requested it) was that these were stories about women yearning for connection. The reality is that's what I felt as the reader throughout. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look in exchange for my honest review.
lisathebee's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
jkharris's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of short stories, while not bad, was just not for me. The writing felt disjointed and jumpy, which is not quite my style. The biggest hurdle for me with this book was that I had a difficult time relating to any of the characters. They were mostly city-dwelling mothers and I'm a childless twenty-something who really wished she could afford to live on 20 acres of forested hills, well away from the hustle and bustle of any major city. I couldn't relate to their motives or their experiences.
sungmemoonstruck's review against another edition
2.0
Theoretically, this was accomplished on a technical level but I just didn't feel a connection to any of the characters in these short stories or feel any sort of satisfying conclusion for most of them.
susanm_82's review against another edition
3.0
This short story collection was pretty good but I liked Walbert’s novela better than the short story truthfully. Some of these stories were quite good on their own and some were fairly forgettable but overall I was hoping for a bit more cohesion in the collection. I do like her writing style though so I’ll keep my eye out for more!
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christine_queenofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to Scribner & NetGalley for a free e-arc of She Was Like That for review.
I leapt at the chance to request an early copy of Kate Walbert's collection of stories because I really liked His Favorites (published last year). I don't recall the experience of reading that book to be as anxiety-inducing as reading this collection.
Throughout, it felt to me that the stories were about the feeling of being alone and of trying to make sense of things. Grief, pain, confusion, trauma - these pop up continually, to the extent that, at times, the stories ran together for me (i.e. I'm not sure I could distinguish between some of the main characters). And that might be the point - that all women encounter such difficulties and feel such ways. That, although our circumstances may be unique, we have such shared experience.
The focus in this collection is on women who aren't poor (I interpreted them as occupying the range from lower to upper middle class). Many of the main characters also are mothers - the relationships both with their children and their own mothers are explored. Race, if I'm remembering correctly, was only mentioned once - identifying a woman's hired help as black.
I like that She Was Like That is part of a larger conversation beginning about the (often emotional) labor women take on. I did like some of the stories better than others - while some were just okay, others were so deeply felt.
Content warning: suicide, mental illness, substance abuse, autism, eating disorders
I leapt at the chance to request an early copy of Kate Walbert's collection of stories because I really liked His Favorites (published last year). I don't recall the experience of reading that book to be as anxiety-inducing as reading this collection.
Throughout, it felt to me that the stories were about the feeling of being alone and of trying to make sense of things. Grief, pain, confusion, trauma - these pop up continually, to the extent that, at times, the stories ran together for me (i.e. I'm not sure I could distinguish between some of the main characters). And that might be the point - that all women encounter such difficulties and feel such ways. That, although our circumstances may be unique, we have such shared experience.
The focus in this collection is on women who aren't poor (I interpreted them as occupying the range from lower to upper middle class). Many of the main characters also are mothers - the relationships both with their children and their own mothers are explored. Race, if I'm remembering correctly, was only mentioned once - identifying a woman's hired help as black.
I like that She Was Like That is part of a larger conversation beginning about the (often emotional) labor women take on. I did like some of the stories better than others - while some were just okay, others were so deeply felt.
Content warning: suicide, mental illness, substance abuse, autism, eating disorders
nannabrochdorff's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, pretty decent stories, but in the grand scheme of things they started melting together and it was quite a bit underwhelming. I understood and appreciated the premise, but the essays just didn't come off as powerful as I thought they'd be. A few of the stories were also downright confusing to me, and I could not understand why they were in here
ckporier's review against another edition
3.0
2-3/4 stars. Uneven. I enjoyed a few of the stories but just slogged through others.
teresa_anton's review against another edition
1.0
Reseña rápida:
+ Historias de mujeres del día a día.
- Excesivamente descriptivo.
- Cambios temporales confusos.
- Historias demasiado parecidas.
Reseña:
Cogí el libro con muchas ganas de adentrarme en un estilo y género que no suelo leer, pero he acabado decepcionada. Nunca he sido mucho de historias cortas, pero me pareció que estas podrían estar bien para ir leyendo a lo largo del mes. Gran error.
La primera historia me gustó. Era una escena cotidiana, entre costumbrista-realista, de una madre en New York. Me costó centrarme porque había subestimado el nivel de inglés que necesitas para leer el libro, pero igualmente me transmitió todos los sentimientos muy bien así que seguí con ganas. En la segunda historia me entretuvo, pero no más. A partir de ahí comenzó un enfrentamiento entre la dificultad del idioma y el aburrimiento del libro para ver quién me hacía leer menos.
En todo el libro apenas aparecen diálogos, es muy descriptivo y, aunque a veces está bien, es muy agotador. Además, como he dicho necesitas un buen nivel de inglés si lo vas a leer en ese idioma y puede que ese haya sido en parte mi problema. Pero eso no quita que los cambios temporales fueran un lío: lo mismo que indicaba cambio de escena servía para saltar al pasado y muchas veces no tenías claro a qué pasado. Intenta jugar con la intriga varias veces, pero solo consigue confusión.
La idea de historias de mujeres cotidianas me gustaba: madres que pierde a su hija en una multitud, mujeres hastiadas de su vida como la esposa perfecta, mujeres que quieren divorciarse... Al principio estaba bien, pero al poco tiempo me dio la sensación de que estaba retratando todo el rato a una misma mujer con diferentes contextos, lo que rompía con el realismo por la falta de variedad. Además, que el hastío de las protagonistas acabó por trasladarse a mí y ya me vale con estar encerrada de cuarentena.
¿Lo recomendaría? Tal vez para que leas una de las historias, la que más llame tu atención, por disfrutar un poco del estilo pausado y la descripción realista. Pero si tratas de leer varias lo encontrarás repetitivo.
+ Historias de mujeres del día a día.
- Excesivamente descriptivo.
- Cambios temporales confusos.
- Historias demasiado parecidas.
Reseña:
Cogí el libro con muchas ganas de adentrarme en un estilo y género que no suelo leer, pero he acabado decepcionada. Nunca he sido mucho de historias cortas, pero me pareció que estas podrían estar bien para ir leyendo a lo largo del mes. Gran error.
La primera historia me gustó. Era una escena cotidiana, entre costumbrista-realista, de una madre en New York. Me costó centrarme porque había subestimado el nivel de inglés que necesitas para leer el libro, pero igualmente me transmitió todos los sentimientos muy bien así que seguí con ganas. En la segunda historia me entretuvo, pero no más. A partir de ahí comenzó un enfrentamiento entre la dificultad del idioma y el aburrimiento del libro para ver quién me hacía leer menos.
En todo el libro apenas aparecen diálogos, es muy descriptivo y, aunque a veces está bien, es muy agotador. Además, como he dicho necesitas un buen nivel de inglés si lo vas a leer en ese idioma y puede que ese haya sido en parte mi problema. Pero eso no quita que los cambios temporales fueran un lío: lo mismo que indicaba cambio de escena servía para saltar al pasado y muchas veces no tenías claro a qué pasado. Intenta jugar con la intriga varias veces, pero solo consigue confusión.
La idea de historias de mujeres cotidianas me gustaba: madres que pierde a su hija en una multitud, mujeres hastiadas de su vida como la esposa perfecta, mujeres que quieren divorciarse... Al principio estaba bien, pero al poco tiempo me dio la sensación de que estaba retratando todo el rato a una misma mujer con diferentes contextos, lo que rompía con el realismo por la falta de variedad. Además, que el hastío de las protagonistas acabó por trasladarse a mí y ya me vale con estar encerrada de cuarentena.
¿Lo recomendaría? Tal vez para que leas una de las historias, la que más llame tu atención, por disfrutar un poco del estilo pausado y la descripción realista. Pero si tratas de leer varias lo encontrarás repetitivo.
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