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A review by mundinova
I Hold a Wolf by the Ears: Stories by Laura van den Berg
5.0
"That is how evil first creeps in," she went on. "Through the falsification of beauty." She told us that evil rarely looked like evil when it first arrived. It could look like innovation and progress and prosperity, courage even, but more than anything it looked, to some, like a solution -- a solution to the secret problem they believed had gone too long unaddressed.
Every story is disturbing and beautiful.
I'd describe this as a cross between the writing style of [a:Marilynne Robinson|7491|Marilynne Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1596051677p2/7491.jpg] and the disturbing undertones of [a:Shirley Jackson|13388|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1550251468p2/13388.jpg]. The sentences are beautifully crafted. Simple, mundane scenes come to life, then become something else you don't, or shouldn't, trust. Something dark and threatening.
There's a definite theme to the stories but each one stands on its own without blurring into the next. All the stories involve women or sisters in situations that force the main character to face the reality she may not know herself as well as she thinks. Several stories involve reflecting on what the character believed to be true, sometimes that truth had built itself into the character's identity, only to find out it was all lies.
My favorite stories were Slumberland, Cult of Mary, Karolina, and Volcano House. There's something about the stories set in Florida that makes you feel like you're there in the nighttime humidity, desperate to escape.
I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Stories: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
https://readingbetweenthestitches.wordpress.com/2020/11/24/i-hold-a-wolf-by-the-ears-stories-by-laura-van-den-berg-5-stars/
Every story is disturbing and beautiful.
I'd describe this as a cross between the writing style of [a:Marilynne Robinson|7491|Marilynne Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1596051677p2/7491.jpg] and the disturbing undertones of [a:Shirley Jackson|13388|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1550251468p2/13388.jpg]. The sentences are beautifully crafted. Simple, mundane scenes come to life, then become something else you don't, or shouldn't, trust. Something dark and threatening.
There's a definite theme to the stories but each one stands on its own without blurring into the next. All the stories involve women or sisters in situations that force the main character to face the reality she may not know herself as well as she thinks. Several stories involve reflecting on what the character believed to be true, sometimes that truth had built itself into the character's identity, only to find out it was all lies.
My favorite stories were Slumberland, Cult of Mary, Karolina, and Volcano House. There's something about the stories set in Florida that makes you feel like you're there in the nighttime humidity, desperate to escape.
I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Stories: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
https://readingbetweenthestitches.wordpress.com/2020/11/24/i-hold-a-wolf-by-the-ears-stories-by-laura-van-den-berg-5-stars/