ada_henry's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I picked this book up from the fiction section of the library on a whim, where it was on display for the 'S' section. Originally, I was going to write down the title and come back to it later, but I was drawn to the cover and wanted to read it right away, and I'm so glad I did, because this may be one of the best books I've read this year.
Overall Thoughts:
I'm starting to really enjoy short stories. Interesting and fast-paced, but with simpler plots and less exposition, I have found collections of short stories to be incredibly evocative and important. Shipstead writes masterfully-- she truly managed to master a wide variety of subjects and genres, and I really enjoyed most of these stories. The tiny, bite-sized morals in these made them both valuable and bearable, and the writing was spot on.
The Cowboy Tango
In my opinion, The Cowboy Tango was one of the more boring, less enjoyable stories in this collection. That being said, I still very much enjoyed it. While it wasn't particularly exciting or relevant to my life, it was very well-executed. 4/5 stars.
Acknowledgements
I quite enjoyed this one. It was the perfect follow-up to The Cowboy Tango, because although they were incredibly, incredibly different, I managed to find somewhat similar themes in both. (As in Unaccustomed Earth, many of these stories were about failing relationships, which must be something adults love to write about.) While Acknowledgements wasn't one of my absolute favorites, I still very much enjoyed it. 4.5/5.
Souterrain
This one was good, but somewhat forgettable. It had some of the biggest twists and one of the more developed, exciting plots, but there were bits of it that I found slow and boring. I did really enjoy this ending of this one though. 4.5/5.
Angel Lust
This one read much differently than the rest, and I'm not entirely sure why. There was something about the writing style that made it feel more like a novel, which isn't a bad thing, but it was just different than the other stories in this book. I enjoyed the themes of this, though. 4.5/5.
La Moretta
This one was one of my favorites. I loved the way the memories were broken up by an interrogation of sorts, accusing the narrator of not loving his wife. I also loved the setting, characters, and somewhat circular aspect of this, starting and ending with the interrogater asking about the 'beginning.' (And overall, the ending was amazing. Shipstead managed to convey the perfect level of panic there in the last few words-- incredible. 5/5 stars.
In the Olympic Village
This was another one of my favorites-- something about the casual way such huge truths were stated was just perfect. On page 153: "Sex, he thinks, is both an extension of and relief from the pointlessness of sport. They swim back and forth, run around and around, paddle from one buoy to another, bicycle to nowhere. Nothing is created but speed, momentum, heat, and disturbances in air and water. However far someone can throw a javelin, it will still not be very far, all things considered, and it will not hit anything except turf. They mate in their twin beds, miming creation." Such a random yet raw line in the middle of a story about an Olympic hurdler and gymnast hooking up. The ending sentence was also beautiful, but the quote I've added already takes up a lot of space, so I won't include it here. 5/5.
You Have a Friend in 10A
The titular story and possibly the only one I didn't like. I found it hard to follow, implausible, and boring. 4/5 stars.
Lambs
Ahhh! I really, really loved this one. The setting was picturesque, the characters beautifully developed and written, and the attention to detail was just fantastic. I also found Robert to be one of the most relatable characters in this collection. This story was sad, but so, so beautifully crafted. The ending was incredible. It was beautiful in such a non-typical way. 5/5. Perfection.
The Great Central Pacific Guano Company
This one was slow, I'll admit, and a little bit less mundane-ly quaint than some of the others, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 3.75/5 stars.
Backcountry
Again, a bit slower and less enjoyable than some of the others, but that last line? "She should have understood that even a life lived properly, better than she was living, could bring so much grief." That perfectly sums it all up. This collection of stories. Every piece of art ever created. Life. The human experience. It's just so true. 5/5.
Two notes: There were two the segued so nicely into each other, but I now cannot recall which two they were, but I'll update this if I remember. Also, the font this book was written in was designed by Pierre Simon Fournier, and there are characters in this with all of those names. I just noticed that and thought it was interesting.
Overall, 5/5. I don't care about the fractions, which demand a 7/10. This was beautifully written.
Overall Thoughts:
I'm starting to really enjoy short stories. Interesting and fast-paced, but with simpler plots and less exposition, I have found collections of short stories to be incredibly evocative and important. Shipstead writes masterfully-- she truly managed to master a wide variety of subjects and genres, and I really enjoyed most of these stories. The tiny, bite-sized morals in these made them both valuable and bearable, and the writing was spot on.
The Cowboy Tango
In my opinion, The Cowboy Tango was one of the more boring, less enjoyable stories in this collection. That being said, I still very much enjoyed it. While it wasn't particularly exciting or relevant to my life, it was very well-executed. 4/5 stars.
Acknowledgements
I quite enjoyed this one. It was the perfect follow-up to The Cowboy Tango, because although they were incredibly, incredibly different, I managed to find somewhat similar themes in both. (As in Unaccustomed Earth, many of these stories were about failing relationships, which must be something adults love to write about.) While Acknowledgements wasn't one of my absolute favorites, I still very much enjoyed it. 4.5/5.
Souterrain
This one was good, but somewhat forgettable. It had some of the biggest twists and one of the more developed, exciting plots, but there were bits of it that I found slow and boring. I did really enjoy this ending of this one though. 4.5/5.
Angel Lust
This one read much differently than the rest, and I'm not entirely sure why. There was something about the writing style that made it feel more like a novel, which isn't a bad thing, but it was just different than the other stories in this book. I enjoyed the themes of this, though. 4.5/5.
La Moretta
This one was one of my favorites. I loved the way the memories were broken up by an interrogation of sorts, accusing the narrator of not loving his wife. I also loved the setting, characters, and somewhat circular aspect of this, starting and ending with the interrogater asking about the 'beginning.' (And overall, the ending was amazing. Shipstead managed to convey the perfect level of panic there in the last few words-- incredible. 5/5 stars.
In the Olympic Village
This was another one of my favorites-- something about the casual way such huge truths were stated was just perfect. On page 153: "Sex, he thinks, is both an extension of and relief from the pointlessness of sport. They swim back and forth, run around and around, paddle from one buoy to another, bicycle to nowhere. Nothing is created but speed, momentum, heat, and disturbances in air and water. However far someone can throw a javelin, it will still not be very far, all things considered, and it will not hit anything except turf. They mate in their twin beds, miming creation." Such a random yet raw line in the middle of a story about an Olympic hurdler and gymnast hooking up. The ending sentence was also beautiful, but the quote I've added already takes up a lot of space, so I won't include it here. 5/5.
You Have a Friend in 10A
The titular story and possibly the only one I didn't like. I found it hard to follow, implausible, and boring. 4/5 stars.
Lambs
Ahhh! I really, really loved this one. The setting was picturesque, the characters beautifully developed and written, and the attention to detail was just fantastic. I also found Robert to be one of the most relatable characters in this collection. This story was sad, but so, so beautifully crafted. The ending was incredible. It was beautiful in such a non-typical way. 5/5. Perfection.
The Great Central Pacific Guano Company
This one was slow, I'll admit, and a little bit less mundane-ly quaint than some of the others, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 3.75/5 stars.
Backcountry
Again, a bit slower and less enjoyable than some of the others, but that last line? "She should have understood that even a life lived properly, better than she was living, could bring so much grief." That perfectly sums it all up. This collection of stories. Every piece of art ever created. Life. The human experience. It's just so true. 5/5.
Two notes: There were two the segued so nicely into each other, but I now cannot recall which two they were, but I'll update this if I remember. Also, the font this book was written in was designed by Pierre Simon Fournier, and there are characters in this with all of those names. I just noticed that and thought it was interesting.
Overall, 5/5. I don't care about the fractions, which demand a 7/10. This was beautifully written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Animal death, Death, and Child death
gicb38's review
3.0
This was good collection but i constantly felt that each story should have been a novel. Partly because of their length but also because i felt like I needed so much more from the characters and each world, it always felt like it took too long to get into each world, and then not long enough to pay off.
hopef's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The prose is functional. Explored are incest, child molestation, harassment as well as less criminal forms of disfunction sexual interactions. You may want a shower after this one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Incest, and Sexual harassment
kelleephants's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
beach_bum_by_birth's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexism
eva_fraser's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
suhmown6's review
3.5
I liked or really liked half of these stories. They are definitely jarring— no matter how many times I read about it, it’s never easy to hear about the objectification and sexualisation of young girls. This book pushed me to some limits.
While I found the stories I enjoyed immersive and visceral, I found myself skimming paragraphs in other stories. Not all was crated equal in this compilation. This is the perfect example of a book I would recommend getting from the library if you like short story collections and can stomach reading about what it means to be a woman in the worst way.
While I found the stories I enjoyed immersive and visceral, I found myself skimming paragraphs in other stories. Not all was crated equal in this compilation. This is the perfect example of a book I would recommend getting from the library if you like short story collections and can stomach reading about what it means to be a woman in the worst way.