blueyogi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body shaming, Xenophobia, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual content, Racism, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Fatphobia
rosemaryandrue's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
The writing combines an unnerving flat affect with startlingly beautiful turns of phrase, and the each story are dense enough in its own way that I was left with something to chew over long after I'd finished listening to it. My favorite stories were "Peking Duck," which discusses if a daughter can claim ownership of her mother's disturbing encounter with a door-to-door salesman, and "Returning," where a couple return to an ancestral country to see a festival in which participants bury themselves alive to transform themselves.
However, sometimes the detachment of the narrators starts to become a bit much - they all seemed to be a little too similar to each other, anxious, alienated women with unsatisfying lives, as though we were seeing the same person in alternate universes. I felt that if there had been more variation in the main characters, the stories could have tapped a richer vein of themes to explore. Some of the stories were also too opaque and open-ended for my taste - "Yeti Lovemaking" in particular comes to mind.
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Katharine Chin. I thought she did an excellent job - her gentle tone captures the detached yet conflicted tone of the narrators, but also conveys the strongly ironic strain that permeates many of the stories. This is a case where the choice of narrator really elevates the experience of the book.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual violence
Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Pregnancy
ninahuynh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use
Moderate: Addiction, Physical abuse, and Racism
Minor: Sexual content
jpn99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Minor: Racism
skyba3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Also - I wanted to note that this book would be very easy to listen to as an audiobook (try libby).
Moderate: Drug abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cancer and Car accident
katieb1034's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism and Domestic abuse
reads2cope's review against another edition
3.75
I did have some trouble figuring out when each story ended and the next began, going to start begging audiobook producers to leave more of a pause between chapters and put more stress on chapter titles, but maybe that's just me.
Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Drug use
Moderate: Drug abuse, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: Stalking and Toxic friendship
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It was definitely very bizarre and out there, and not always my favourite read (for example, there were some gory moments which I found a bit tricky to read), but had some great moments highlighting the Asian-American experience 😳
I found ‘Los Angeles’ and ‘Oranges’ to probably be the most influential (in terms of holding the most space in my brain), but there were other stories in the collection I could appreciate too.
I will definitely include the content warnings needed for these stories below 🥲
All in all, I’m giving this story 3.5 out of 5 stars I think. Thank you ✨
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Domestic abuse
superiour_medium's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror and Pregnancy
Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, and Racism
nataliegray's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Racism
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Stalking