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retrophrenologist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
flohassall's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
thebobsphere's review
3.0
more like a 3.5
This review will not be on the blog
I am a big fan of Ben Myers novels and I was secretly hoping that his first short story collection would scale those heights. Do not get me wrong there are some pieces here that are fantastic and up to the standard of his books. My personal favourites were The Folk Song Singer and The Whip Hand. The rest are solid but those two stories floored me.
If you are a Ben Myers completist do get this. if you're beginning to get into his work, this has a lot of themes you'll see in his novels but remember it's the contained version, while believe he expresses himself better in the longer story format. It's still pretty good in places.
This review will not be on the blog
I am a big fan of Ben Myers novels and I was secretly hoping that his first short story collection would scale those heights. Do not get me wrong there are some pieces here that are fantastic and up to the standard of his books. My personal favourites were The Folk Song Singer and The Whip Hand. The rest are solid but those two stories floored me.
If you are a Ben Myers completist do get this. if you're beginning to get into his work, this has a lot of themes you'll see in his novels but remember it's the contained version, while believe he expresses himself better in the longer story format. It's still pretty good in places.
joelleco's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
matty_robson17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bps's review
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
reubenlb's review
3.0
each story was interesting, but none were outstanding - i’m not sure it really “lays bare the male psyche”…
kate66's review
5.0
If there were more stars I'd give it more.
I will never run out of good things to say about Benjamin Myers. I love his work. There were 2 stories in this collection that I'd read before but frankly his prose is so good I happily read them again. The stories are the usual mixture of dark and strange but once you've read A Thousand Acres of English Soil you'll be hooked too. If you've not read any of Mr Myers work before this is a great place to start.
My introduction was The Offing and since then I've read all but 2 of his works. Can't wait for what's next.
I will never run out of good things to say about Benjamin Myers. I love his work. There were 2 stories in this collection that I'd read before but frankly his prose is so good I happily read them again. The stories are the usual mixture of dark and strange but once you've read A Thousand Acres of English Soil you'll be hooked too. If you've not read any of Mr Myers work before this is a great place to start.
My introduction was The Offing and since then I've read all but 2 of his works. Can't wait for what's next.
oliveclogs's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0