Scan barcode
A review by bekkah_co
Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
2.5
When this book was presented to me, it was described as a short story collection that didn't fall into the pitfalls most collections fall into (some are too short, others too long, the blend together, some feel uncompleted, etc.). Unfortunately, after completing Tomb Sweeper I found it falling into this pattern. Some stories, like "Flies" carried on for ages while stories like "Cat Personalities" were much to short. The pace of the stories was all over the place and negatively impacted the flow from one narrative to the next. The author, Alexandra Chang, took a significant amount of time to work on this (nine years, according to the dust cover), and I wish that the time she spent would have helped tighten this collection further into cohesive themes.
If I had to select commonalities that were present throughout the fifteen stories, it would be the following:
- Asian (specifically Chinese)-American experiences
- Chinese experiences
- severe melancholy / anxiety
As I read, all of the stories started to blur together. This person didn't have money, this person was dissatisfied with their life, their parents are divorced, etc. I don't think there was a single short story in this that stood out as particularly unique from the rest in the collection.
The one saving grace of this book was the craftmanship. Chang's writing, stylistically, was a treat. I was able to breeze through the text without feeling like I was missing any pertinent details. I believe if I would have encountered each of these short stories individually, I may have enjoyed them more. Perhaps that's my fault for reading the collection all in one go.
When I began reading, I was optimistic. "Unknown by Unknown" by far was my favorite. It was a good way to begin the collection, but the suspense built within its own pages did not pay off. It was misleading to the rest of the contents in the book. I will say, I did nearly DNF the book with the ending of "Phenotype" because what the hell.
If I had to select commonalities that were present throughout the fifteen stories, it would be the following:
- Asian (specifically Chinese)-American experiences
- Chinese experiences
- severe melancholy / anxiety
As I read, all of the stories started to blur together. This person didn't have money, this person was dissatisfied with their life, their parents are divorced, etc. I don't think there was a single short story in this that stood out as particularly unique from the rest in the collection.
The one saving grace of this book was the craftmanship. Chang's writing, stylistically, was a treat. I was able to breeze through the text without feeling like I was missing any pertinent details. I believe if I would have encountered each of these short stories individually, I may have enjoyed them more. Perhaps that's my fault for reading the collection all in one go.
When I began reading, I was optimistic. "Unknown by Unknown" by far was my favorite. It was a good way to begin the collection, but the suspense built within its own pages did not pay off. It was misleading to the rest of the contents in the book. I will say, I did nearly DNF the book with the ending of "Phenotype" because what the hell.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Abortion and War