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shirley098's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A dark, twisted collection of short stories, with main character's whose flaws and desires are front and center from the get-go. Touches upon the various unspoken situations that women tend to come up against, from being groomed, to the fear of offending and retaliation during dating, and desires of vengeance upon a cheating spouse.
Ones that stood out to me:
Sardines:
About an intense game of sardines, "mean" birthday wishes, and the desire for revenge.
Marla is nursing her grievance along with her Merlot. She can feel it scratching at her, her anger, wedged in the space where the two halves of her ribcage meet.
Cat Person: About a confusing, lukewarm courtship, full of misunderstandings and fears of offending triggering something worse.
When he saw her face crumple, a kind of magic happened. All the tension drained of his posture; he stood up straight and wrapped his bearlike arms around her. She let herself be folded against him, and she was flooded with the same feeling she'd had outside 7-Eleven; that she was a delicate, precious thing he was afraid he might break.
The Mirror, the Bucket, and the Old Thigh Bone: A fairytale fable about selfish desires and how helping to indulge them may cause more harm than good.
Scarred: About a woman whose conjured up a lover, and the choice between that love and all other wants.
The Boy in the Pool: About a trio of friends, the tense relationships between them, and feelings of unrequited love and regret. Oh, and a cute actor from a childhood sleepover they once saw.
Biter: About a woman who loves to bite people, and her attempts to reign it in at work, until one day she finds a person that deserves to be bitten.
The difference between children and adults is that adults understand the consequences of their actions, and Ellie, as an adult, understood that if she wanted to pay her rent and keep her health insurance, she could not run around biting people at work.
What on earth had the people at the temp agency been thinking, sending him? Green-eyed, pink-cheeked Corey Allen did not belong in an office environment. Corey Allen, like a fan or a satyr, belonged in a sunlit field surrounded by happy naked nymphs, making love and drinking wine.
As Michelle in Accounting put it, Corey Allen have off the impression that he night, at any second, decide to quit being an office manager and run off to live in a tree.
Ones that stood out to me:
Sardines:
About an intense game of sardines, "mean" birthday wishes, and the desire for revenge.
Marla is nursing her grievance along with her Merlot. She can feel it scratching at her, her anger, wedged in the space where the two halves of her ribcage meet.
Cat Person: About a confusing, lukewarm courtship, full of misunderstandings and fears of offending triggering something worse.
When he saw her face crumple, a kind of magic happened. All the tension drained of his posture; he stood up straight and wrapped his bearlike arms around her. She let herself be folded against him, and she was flooded with the same feeling she'd had outside 7-Eleven; that she was a delicate, precious thing he was afraid he might break.
The Mirror, the Bucket, and the Old Thigh Bone: A fairytale fable about selfish desires and how helping to indulge them may cause more harm than good.
Scarred: About a woman whose conjured up a lover, and the choice between that love and all other wants.
The Boy in the Pool: About a trio of friends, the tense relationships between them, and feelings of unrequited love and regret. Oh, and a cute actor from a childhood sleepover they once saw.
Biter: About a woman who loves to bite people, and her attempts to reign it in at work, until one day she finds a person that deserves to be bitten.
The difference between children and adults is that adults understand the consequences of their actions, and Ellie, as an adult, understood that if she wanted to pay her rent and keep her health insurance, she could not run around biting people at work.
What on earth had the people at the temp agency been thinking, sending him? Green-eyed, pink-cheeked Corey Allen did not belong in an office environment. Corey Allen, like a fan or a satyr, belonged in a sunlit field surrounded by happy naked nymphs, making love and drinking wine.
As Michelle in Accounting put it, Corey Allen have off the impression that he night, at any second, decide to quit being an office manager and run off to live in a tree.
mindthebook's review against another edition
3.0
Omläsning inför filmversionen som förhandsvisades på Cineworld igår kväll.
Sedan sist har en författarinläsning tillkommit där på The New Yorker och jag tyckte jag uppskattade texten lite mer den här gången, även om online-dejting inte ligger inom min intressesfär, om man säger så.
Filmatiseringen tar en egen incel:esque vändning efter sista textmeddelandet. Överflödigt. Fast Lee Hazlewood där över slutscenerna var ett utmärkt grepp. Roligt också att se Isabella Rossellini som excentrisk universitetslektor.
Sedan sist har en författarinläsning tillkommit där på The New Yorker och jag tyckte jag uppskattade texten lite mer den här gången, även om online-dejting inte ligger inom min intressesfär, om man säger så.
Filmatiseringen tar en egen incel:esque vändning efter sista textmeddelandet. Överflödigt. Fast Lee Hazlewood där över slutscenerna var ett utmärkt grepp. Roligt också att se Isabella Rossellini som excentrisk universitetslektor.
chaosetc's review
4.0
*** Bad Boy
Truly disturbing horror about manipulative behavior, no other worldly monsters required.
** Look at Your Game, Girl
A believable description of predatory behavior, broken boundaries, and the drive for seeking novelty.
*** Sardines
This is why we'd all be dead if magical powers were real.
**** The Night Runner
A thought provoking story of survival. Everyone in it is just trying to get through life, and nobody is purely good or evil.
***** The Mirror, the Bucket, and the Old Thigh Bone
A surprise story about indulgence. This might be my favorite fairy tale ever.
** Cat Person
This one invokes the cat person stereotype without it actually adding anything. It's basically a dating horror story about an antagonist who is really bad at relating to people, and a protagonist who makes terrible decisions.
*** The Good Guy
A darkly funny ending to a mediocre life. It ran a bit long for me.
** The Boy in the Pool
This is almost certainly not what the author intended, but I read it as a description of how we expect celebrities to be puppets, forever repeating their most famous lines. I couldn't much relate to the rest of it.
*** Scarred
This is about how power corrupts, with an interesting witchy twist.
**** The Matchbox Sign
The author is apparently well familiar with the biases of our medical system. A surprise ending brought the whole story to life.
*** Death Wish
We think we know ourselves, but we learn the truth only when we're tested. This wasn't quite believable for me, but then again I've never used Tinder. Maybe these things do happen.
**** Biter
This was funnier than it should have been. A woman with peculiar predatory fantasies finds a way to use them as a vigilante weapon of sorts.
** Milkwishes
A reminder that our early childhood memories can't be trusted.
Truly disturbing horror about manipulative behavior, no other worldly monsters required.
** Look at Your Game, Girl
A believable description of predatory behavior, broken boundaries, and the drive for seeking novelty.
*** Sardines
This is why we'd all be dead if magical powers were real.
**** The Night Runner
A thought provoking story of survival. Everyone in it is just trying to get through life, and nobody is purely good or evil.
***** The Mirror, the Bucket, and the Old Thigh Bone
A surprise story about indulgence. This might be my favorite fairy tale ever.
** Cat Person
This one invokes the cat person stereotype without it actually adding anything. It's basically a dating horror story about an antagonist who is really bad at relating to people, and a protagonist who makes terrible decisions.
*** The Good Guy
A darkly funny ending to a mediocre life. It ran a bit long for me.
** The Boy in the Pool
This is almost certainly not what the author intended, but I read it as a description of how we expect celebrities to be puppets, forever repeating their most famous lines. I couldn't much relate to the rest of it.
*** Scarred
This is about how power corrupts, with an interesting witchy twist.
**** The Matchbox Sign
The author is apparently well familiar with the biases of our medical system. A surprise ending brought the whole story to life.
*** Death Wish
We think we know ourselves, but we learn the truth only when we're tested. This wasn't quite believable for me, but then again I've never used Tinder. Maybe these things do happen.
**** Biter
This was funnier than it should have been. A woman with peculiar predatory fantasies finds a way to use them as a vigilante weapon of sorts.
** Milkwishes
A reminder that our early childhood memories can't be trusted.
iancarpenter's review against another edition
4.0
Like most short story collections I read there's hits and misses, but the hits here are great. Cat Person is still an incredible piece of writing. And, like that story, there's others whose observations on dating, sleeping together, vulnerability and the interactions between women and men, are perceptive, damning and brilliant. I haven't read something that gets all of us at this time so well in a long time. Dying for more.
jabberbelle_reads's review
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Best book I’ve read in years, tbh. All in one sitting
mia_1312's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katiechaos's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t even know how to rate this. I was in complete awe the entire time.
eitvile's review against another edition
2.0
Neežinau, matyt, ne mano knyga.
Istorijos tarpusavy panašios, buvo vos keli netikėti momentai, kurių tiek daug prižadėta knygos aprašyme.
Istorijos tarpusavy panašios, buvo vos keli netikėti momentai, kurių tiek daug prižadėta knygos aprašyme.
alanamcdonough's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
4.25