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junglejelly's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall I did enjoy the book but it was due to Miller's incredible writing and the variation between the stories.
Otherwise, most of the characters felt too stereotypical to really be fleshed out and likeable characters.
My favourite of the short stories was 'Total' by a mile followed by 'I Want You to Know'
Otherwise, most of the characters felt too stereotypical to really be fleshed out and likeable characters.
My favourite of the short stories was 'Total' by a mile followed by 'I Want You to Know'
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
Moderate: Drug use and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Infidelity
laurataylor's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Infidelity
lily7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for an advanced copy of this ebook.
This is a collection of 7 short stories, and I found it to be a real mixed bag. I did not enjoy the first three stories, persevering only because the book itself is pretty short, but the final four - particularly the titular story - just about make it a worthwhile read overall.
This is a collection of 7 short stories, and I found it to be a real mixed bag. I did not enjoy the first three stories, persevering only because the book itself is pretty short, but the final four - particularly the titular story - just about make it a worthwhile read overall.
The first story didn’t feel particularly intriguing; the plot is pretty straightforward but there is none of the tension or sense of foreboding that I think you would expect as you reach the climax of it. Or maybe I didn’t get what Miller was trying to achieve with it. In any case, the main character in this story is unlikable, but not in any way that I can get on board with, so it just wasn’t one to work with. The second story is quite long - or felt long - withouht going anywhere. The idea is interesting, I just felt the mystery it was trying to cultivate needed much more time to develop. The third was not especially grabbing, unfortunately.
Total, the fourth story and the turning-point in this collection, is a really interesting sci-fi dystopia. For me, there were echoes of Never Let Me Go and The Handmaid’s Tale, and although happy with the story as it was, I would happily read a whole novel based on the ideas and story created here. Stories 5 and 6 are interestingly woven stories: I found the characters engaging and the stories themselves felt more complete and tightly worked. And The Chekhovians is a great final story - lots of characters to keep track of, but I thought it was a finely observed and brutal episode of a family drama.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Medical content, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy
kateflood's review
4.0
This is a solid collection of mildly unsettling short stories. Though the tonal shift between some of the stories occasionally felt a bit jarring (and not in a way which felt intentional), overall these stories were engaging with a cast of interesting characters and settings which had real depth. The writing in this collection is beautiful and I will definitely be reading other works by this author!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
dancefever's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thank you to netgalley and canongate for providing me with a free copy of this collection in exchange for an unbiased review.
this collection was a mixed bag to say the least. my initial impressions with the first few stories was not entirely favourable: i feel like they were trying to have the plot and forward motion of a novel as well as the cinematically detailed vignettes of a short story, eventually succeeding in creating neither. the second story, for example, feels like it wanted to launch into a long-form mystery by the second half, but by that point had already set up the slow pace and evocative setting of a short story: though many short stories end abruptly (and often to great effect): this just read like a half-baked novella. in the third story, too, we are introduced to about six characters in the space of a page, which makes me wonder whether this too was ever conceived as, or indeed could be sensibly conceived as, a short story rather than a novel or novella. however, perhaps as a direct result of my initial underwhelmed reaction to the first few stories, the eponymous story of the collection really took my breath away with how great it was: a sort of dystopian sci-fi story that reminded me of ishiguro's never let me go in its subject matter and margaret atwood in its tone. masterfully written and truly haunting.
the remaining few short stories also really worked. they created carver-esque vignettes of the character's lives that felt self-contained and impressively emotionally resonant for their lack of length. getting to the end of these remaining few stories and realising that miller has such talent in story-weaving and prose made me reflect on whether perhaps i just found the characters in the first few stories too annoying. perhaps. in any case, i'm glad i did keep going with this past the first half, because it was worth it.
this collection was a mixed bag to say the least. my initial impressions with the first few stories was not entirely favourable: i feel like they were trying to have the plot and forward motion of a novel as well as the cinematically detailed vignettes of a short story, eventually succeeding in creating neither. the second story, for example, feels like it wanted to launch into a long-form mystery by the second half, but by that point had already set up the slow pace and evocative setting of a short story: though many short stories end abruptly (and often to great effect): this just read like a half-baked novella. in the third story, too, we are introduced to about six characters in the space of a page, which makes me wonder whether this too was ever conceived as, or indeed could be sensibly conceived as, a short story rather than a novel or novella. however, perhaps as a direct result of my initial underwhelmed reaction to the first few stories, the eponymous story of the collection really took my breath away with how great it was: a sort of dystopian sci-fi story that reminded me of ishiguro's never let me go in its subject matter and margaret atwood in its tone. masterfully written and truly haunting.
the remaining few short stories also really worked. they created carver-esque vignettes of the character's lives that felt self-contained and impressively emotionally resonant for their lack of length. getting to the end of these remaining few stories and realising that miller has such talent in story-weaving and prose made me reflect on whether perhaps i just found the characters in the first few stories too annoying. perhaps. in any case, i'm glad i did keep going with this past the first half, because it was worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Pregnancy
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