A review by meeners
The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories by John Kessel
4.0
pride and prejudice meets frankenstein. orson welles meets time travel. the wizard of oz meets . . . ??? what might have come across as hokey in another writer felt genuinely speculative, in its best sense, here. the mixing of styles is less deftly done, but i did like the cleanness and assured precision of kessel's prose when left to its own devices. particularly as it's used so often to pin down characters who are more aimless than not, or who find themselves cut adrift despite themselves (or cut adrift from themselves).
i admit that "stories for men" triggered one of the oddest reading experiences i've had in a while. i reacted violently against almost every plot turn, i hated almost every character, i argued back against almost every word....and i still don't know how i feel about the story, days after reading it. i suspect that might have been the point, at least in part. and for that alone i'm giving this 4 stars.
i admit that "stories for men" triggered one of the oddest reading experiences i've had in a while. i reacted violently against almost every plot turn, i hated almost every character, i argued back against almost every word....and i still don't know how i feel about the story, days after reading it. i suspect that might have been the point, at least in part. and for that alone i'm giving this 4 stars.