zachwerb's review
4.0
3.5
An interesting read of sort of connected stories or atleast a character that feels the same through all of them. Walsh's prose is tight and the stories lean and I'm here for it.
An interesting read of sort of connected stories or atleast a character that feels the same through all of them. Walsh's prose is tight and the stories lean and I'm here for it.
jenni8fer's review
4.0
These are intelligent interlinking stories that finely examine the ebb and flow of life's moments. The negative space that is always fluid which has the potential to create a fear of falling into a void. The sentences are layered one upon another to delve deeper into the underlying context of the point the author wishes to make.
leaflinglearns's review
4.0
My daughter has made her first sacrifice to fashion. She has bought a short pink skirt with lace, which does not suit her and for which there is no suitable season or occasion. It will remain unworn, but beautiful. When she wears it, it stops being beautiful. When she takes it off, there it is, beautiful again. For this, she has given up her money.
This book engaged me like no other book could one day when I was up in the middle of nowhere with a stack of books to keep my company. I was slumping hard, but once I started this collection of vignettes, I couldn't stop. The packaging itself is stunning, the book almost square, and the words inside are also beautiful. It was one of those reads where I could tell that what I was reading was beautiful and fascinating, but I also felt not completely smart enough to get all of it. Each story takes you deep into the head of a woman (sometimes different, sometimes the same as an earlier story as far as I could tell). For the most part, we get to observe small moments but overall are given powerful insight into things like love, loss, being a person, etc. Walsh's minimalism was so elegant, I could hardly handle it. I was greatly moved by a number of these stories.
Full review with two others: Outlandish Lit's Quick Reads, Quick Reviews
meru's review against another edition
4.0
Me costó un poco entrar en este libro, pero una vez que estuve dentro ya no quise salir. El modo de escribir de Walsh es indudablemente suyo, y el hecho de que sean historias tan cortas hace que tardes quizás un poco más de la cuenta en acostumbrarte a él. Pero su rollo es indudablemente mi rollo. Todo es un poco extraño dentro de las historias del día a día, todo está un poco inconexo, un poco desplazado del sitio en el que debería estar. Leer a Walsh parece ser menos sobre la historia que está contando y más sobre las palabras y el ritmo que utiliza para hacerlo.
mallaeus's review
3.0
A short story collection I picked up after an unsuccessful venture into a pair of very large nonfiction books which I won't be continuing with.
Walsh is a quiet favorite of mine, having read her more recent collection some time last year and enjoyed it. Her command of language is impressive, and she twists words and phrases around on themselves to create intricate stories, perfectly contained within themselves.
Major themes include infidelity, growing older, motherhood, language, and the sensation of being alone (but not lonely, necessarily) in a foreign country.
Walsh is a quiet favorite of mine, having read her more recent collection some time last year and enjoyed it. Her command of language is impressive, and she twists words and phrases around on themselves to create intricate stories, perfectly contained within themselves.
Major themes include infidelity, growing older, motherhood, language, and the sensation of being alone (but not lonely, necessarily) in a foreign country.
missdaisyanna's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Perhaps this is the fault of the publishing house, but I certainly felt the cover and title of this collection misled me into thinking these would be short scary/spooky/horror stories. Insteadz they focussed solely on the mundane, which wasn't quite what I was looking for. Although, 'And After' does perfectly capture the experience of living in a rural town!
jmacdonaldjones's review against another edition
3.0
I found I much preferred the short stories within the collection that were around 4 or five pages long. I felt I didn’t really ‘get to the bottom’ of some of the longer examples but they were enjoyable in their composition nonetheless.
theartolater's review
5.0
As someone who has traditionally struggled with short stories, much of what exists in Vertigo seriously wowed me. The short story the collection takes its name from is a key highlight, but nearly every story in here is really richly portrayed and has a hypervisual quality to it that lends itself to some great mental images. At 120 or so pages, this is just one you should grab and read in an afternoon, as the stories are sized to move pretty fast, and there's really not a bad one in the bunch. Essential if you like short works.