sanmeow's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
marceau is clearly a very talented writer. i really enjoyed quite a few word choices and sentence structures, i like how descriptive the writing is and it can really invoke emotion. not every story spoke to me, some had interesting imagery and i found them fun and innovative more than anything else, and others resonated. personal favorites are blood and coffee because of the message, in utero because of the writing, and everything she's looking for because i liked it a lot in every aspect.
feministmidwife's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted so much more from these stories - depth, horror, feminism, something. They bobbed on the surface and I’d hoped for a plunge. Will read other books by Marceau, because I’m excited by what this started.
kf21's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jalaines_book_nook's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
ericarobyn's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Femina by Caitlin Marceau is a collection of short stories about the darkness of womanhood that are sure to get under your skin.
Caitlin does such a great job here. You can tell that each story was handled with care, but she certainly does not shy away from going as far as she needs to go to really reflect each situation in the light it needs.
My favorites were:
- Llanwey Point
- In Utero
- Blood and Coffee
- 23 McCormick Road
Here are my notes on each story:
Tabula Rasa –
Waking up feeling extremely cold, Cassie is concerned. Thinking she is alone on a ship, she is shocked to find another being that is identical to her. And worse, she’s missing memories.
Waking up feeling extremely cold, Cassie is concerned. Thinking she is alone on a ship, she is shocked to find another being that is identical to her. And worse, she’s missing memories.
This was such a tense tale! The setting along was enough to scare me. But then the author hits on one of my all time biggest fears – forgetting major life events. My heart broke for Cassie. What a powerful story of doing anything for a child.
Gastric –
Pressured to have surgery for weightloss, this poor woman knows that it was a bad idea. She had no idea how bad until she has complications.
Pressured to have surgery for weightloss, this poor woman knows that it was a bad idea. She had no idea how bad until she has complications.
My god, the fatphobia and gaslighting here from the male characters is absolutely blood boiling. I wanted to rage on behalf of this poor woman. No one should ever be dismissed when they bring up symptoms.
Teeth –
What an unsettling poem!
What an unsettling poem!
The Only Thing To Fear –
Attending a lecture on what to do if you know someone who shifts into a loups-garous, a teenage girl tries to put off the advances of her boyfriend of three months. Later, when an evening doesn’t go as the boyfriend had hoped, he decides to act out like a typical terrible teenage boy…
Attending a lecture on what to do if you know someone who shifts into a loups-garous, a teenage girl tries to put off the advances of her boyfriend of three months. Later, when an evening doesn’t go as the boyfriend had hoped, he decides to act out like a typical terrible teenage boy…
Most of this one had me fuming, but that ending was glorious!
Llanwey Point –
When her boyfriend suddenly wants to go camping overnight, this young girl is confused but goes along with the plan. During the hike, as she tries to talk with him, she gets nothing but snarky and rude comments. Before long, she wishes she had never agreed to the trip.
When her boyfriend suddenly wants to go camping overnight, this young girl is confused but goes along with the plan. During the hike, as she tries to talk with him, she gets nothing but snarky and rude comments. Before long, she wishes she had never agreed to the trip.
My gosh the red flags in this one! I yet again wanted to rage on this poor girls behalf. But that ending was absolute gold!
Raw Footage From The Cushing’s Mall –
When three teens break into an abandoned mall to film for their YouTube channel, things get weird very quickly.
When three teens break into an abandoned mall to film for their YouTube channel, things get weird very quickly.
Set up as a transcription of the video, this nightmare reads terrifyingly well. This one covered so much in a short burst; teenage drama, heartbreak, betrayal, fear, and more.
Splinter –
When this couple goes shopping for plants and flowers for their home, one of them is struck by a suffering plant. After a discussion, one reluctantly agrees to let the other buy it. But when picking it up, the reluctant one gets a splinter. Of course, this isn’t just any normal splinter…
When this couple goes shopping for plants and flowers for their home, one of them is struck by a suffering plant. After a discussion, one reluctantly agrees to let the other buy it. But when picking it up, the reluctant one gets a splinter. Of course, this isn’t just any normal splinter…
Phew! Splinters are scary as is. I mean, how many of us were told that if we didn’t get splinters out that they could go to our hearts and kill us? But this splinter was really something of nightmares!
Sticky Sweet –
Yikes! Another unsettling poem! What a vivid picture this one paints!
Yikes! Another unsettling poem! What a vivid picture this one paints!
Broken –
When an agreement between two kings leads to an arranged marriage, the marriage is doomed from the start as the future king is in love with the second daughter, not the first that he must wed. The two can’t stay apart. When the wife discovers the betrayal, she cooks up a plan.
When an agreement between two kings leads to an arranged marriage, the marriage is doomed from the start as the future king is in love with the second daughter, not the first that he must wed. The two can’t stay apart. When the wife discovers the betrayal, she cooks up a plan.
What a sad story! Knowing these arrangements never work out, I should have anticipated where this was going, but it still broke my heart anyway for everyone involved.
In Utero –
The way my eyes bugged out at the last sentence of this one! My goodness!
The way my eyes bugged out at the last sentence of this one! My goodness!
Everything She’s Looking For –
Drawn together in love, these two realize they also have magic between them. But one wants more from the relationship than the other.
Drawn together in love, these two realize they also have magic between them. But one wants more from the relationship than the other.
Ugh, I was so happy reading the first half of this one. A tale about the risks of love taking everything from you.
Loop –
What a short and anxiety-inducing tale and what a cool format!
What a short and anxiety-inducing tale and what a cool format!
Blood and Coffee –
Frustrated in both her work life and personal life, this woman has finally had enough.
Frustrated in both her work life and personal life, this woman has finally had enough.
My god this story captures the dismissive behavior of men so perfectly. This made me so angry on the characters’ behalf.
The Amphitrite –
Spending time in an underwater observation area, this researcher is counting down the time until the ship will arrive to bring her back home. But something isn’t right…
Spending time in an underwater observation area, this researcher is counting down the time until the ship will arrive to bring her back home. But something isn’t right…
Oofh. When I finally had a guess at what was going on here, I was so sad. What a tale!
23 McCormick Road –
Moving into a new home, one of the women settles in nicely. But the other woman is having trouble. What starts as a feeling that she’s not alone, grows into seeing a young boy, she doesn’t know what to do. But soon, with a little help from a neighbor, she knows exactly what must be done.
Moving into a new home, one of the women settles in nicely. But the other woman is having trouble. What starts as a feeling that she’s not alone, grows into seeing a young boy, she doesn’t know what to do. But soon, with a little help from a neighbor, she knows exactly what must be done.
This one was so chilling, incredibly heartbreaking, but also so hopeful and full of love.
My Favorite Passages from Femina
She follows him reluctantly, checking over her shoulder as she climbs the narrow path, branches scratching at her face and catching in her hair. It feels like the forest is trying to grab her, like the very trees are trying to hook themselves into her skin and stop her from making her ascent. Something moves behind her in the dark it’s the same thing that’s been following her all day, appearing at the edges of her vision and disappearing before she can register what it is and she forces herself to move faster.
— Llanwey Point
— Llanwey Point
“Hoping is like the lazy man’s version of looking. It’s searching for something greater than one’s self and assuming you’ll come up empty-handed, but that maybe you’ll find something eventually…”
— Everything She’s Looking For
— Everything She’s Looking For
My Final Thoughts on Femina
Every single one of the stories in Femina gave me an extreme emotional reaction. More often than not, I wanted to absolutely rage on behalf of the characters for what they were going through. A few times, I found myself clutching the edges of my book, about to hulk out and rip it up out of anger for the characters.
What a powerful collection. This is a must-read!
pbanditp's review against another edition
5.0
Want to get your blood boiling? Dismissed, shamed, taken advantage of, under valued, unappreciated, humiliated and frustrated. Women suffer indignation after indignation and it was good to see people get put in their place in this short story collection.
“She hates their conflation of beauty and weight, and how they've weaponized her size to cut at her sense of self-worth.” -Billie in the story Gastric
Of course not all the stories are about demeaning women, Caitlin shows quite a wide variety of sub genres and writing styles in FEMINA with some sci-fi horror, screenplay writing, poetry, playing around with formatting, and a very short and incredibly twisted shocker. I don’t think I could choose a favorite as there were so many exceptional stories.
This collection has solidified Caitlin Marceau as one of my must read authors. Her work is flowing and easily immerses you into the story. She writes solid characters, empathic plots, and settings that have texture and feeling. You are not just in a car in her story but you can hear the engine, feel the vibration of the road and see the dust on the dashboard. Whether it is in a submarine or drinking wine with neighbors, you are not just reading a story, you are with the characters…and sometimes you probably wish you weren’t.
The last story in this collection is called 23 McCormick Road. It is a haunted house story that absolutely made me break out in goosebumps, sent chills down my spine and just creeped me the fuck out. By the end, it was overflowing with emotions.
I’ll leave you with this to sum it all up-
“She feels helpless, something she's never been before, and the realization makes her furious.”-Cassie in the story Tabula Rasa
“She hates their conflation of beauty and weight, and how they've weaponized her size to cut at her sense of self-worth.” -Billie in the story Gastric
Of course not all the stories are about demeaning women, Caitlin shows quite a wide variety of sub genres and writing styles in FEMINA with some sci-fi horror, screenplay writing, poetry, playing around with formatting, and a very short and incredibly twisted shocker. I don’t think I could choose a favorite as there were so many exceptional stories.
This collection has solidified Caitlin Marceau as one of my must read authors. Her work is flowing and easily immerses you into the story. She writes solid characters, empathic plots, and settings that have texture and feeling. You are not just in a car in her story but you can hear the engine, feel the vibration of the road and see the dust on the dashboard. Whether it is in a submarine or drinking wine with neighbors, you are not just reading a story, you are with the characters…and sometimes you probably wish you weren’t.
The last story in this collection is called 23 McCormick Road. It is a haunted house story that absolutely made me break out in goosebumps, sent chills down my spine and just creeped me the fuck out. By the end, it was overflowing with emotions.
I’ll leave you with this to sum it all up-
“She feels helpless, something she's never been before, and the realization makes her furious.”-Cassie in the story Tabula Rasa
davemusson85's review
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
3.5
This shuffle of short stories, poems, and the previously released novella 23 McCormick Road underlines why the buzz around Caitlin Marceau is getting louder by the month; she’s the real deal.
The pieces gathered here give you a sense of exactly what skills the author has at her disposal, and there are plenty of them. Potential too - heck, there’s a lot of potential here.
When this collection hits, it absolutely slams. The body horror in both Splinter and the deliciously twisted climax of my personal standout from the whole thing Gastric (like a messed up distant cousin of Stephen King’s Thinner) is superbly done - gorey and shocking, but also serving the stories brilliantly.
These tales aren’t without their share of black comedy too; Llanwey Point and The Only Thing to Fear both made me chuckle, while the final line of Blood and Coffee made me do a real-life laugh out loud, as did the wonderful one-page micro piece In Utero, which my sick brain found hilarious and highly relatable.
Not everything hit for me, but collections rarely do. And anyway, let’s not dwell on that; this is solid throughout with some flashes of brilliance and I’m excited to read more from this talented writer.
_bttrlvng's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
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