trombro's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic blend of humor and sincerity. Favorites include 'An Island of Boyfriends', 'Sally's Story', 'Rules For Being Human', and 'A Prodigy of Longing'.
bellwetherdays's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
mountainreader's review
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
_jokaiser's review
3.0
I feel a little conflicted; whilst I enjoyed some of the stories and the writing itself, it felt as though there was something missing.
trin's review
5.0
Really, really cool short stories. Richter does an amazing job capturing the POVs of her bizarre, fucked up characters; their voices are remarkably distinct and the prose is lively. Richter reminds me somewhat of [author: Aimee Bender] or [author: Kelly Link], although I think I may have actually enjoyed these stories more; they had a tighter narrative structure than either Bender's or Link's work, whose stories (the latter's in particular) sometimes leave me going, "What was that actually ABOUT?" Which is not to say Richter's dumbing it down—there is simply a clarity to her presentation and purpose. I loved both the tragic, heart-wrenching stories, like "The Beauty Treatment," and the ebullient, ridiculous ones—"Goal 666" and "Rats Eat Cats" are two of my favorites in the collection.
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