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victorsbookshelf's reviews
261 reviews
Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
3.0
"From a purely physical perspective, it is hard to love a man without breaking him apart." – Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
⭐⭐⭐(⭐?)/5
Y'all, short story collections are weird. I'm not sure I'm gonna be going for many of them in the future, unless they're connected by the same universe or characters and so on. Out of 9 stories, a third hit hard, another third was nice, and the remaining third was just... Huh??? And it's not even Armfield's doing, I'm sure, I've found this in ALL short story collections I've read!
Still, salt slow was a good time. Each story ends when it needs to, they don't tend to cut too short, or worse, drone on well after making their point. The sapphic undertones are refreshing and very well handled, with a good sprinkling of analysis on heteronormativity.
My favourite thing about this collection was the kind of horror Armfield writes. Unusual and paranatural manifestations abound, whether subtle and implied, or clear and eviscerated, they're mostly original and fresh, and also the kind that benefit from the story being short and self-contained. Only a few of the stories felt a bit more predictable in their direction/ending.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book, and I think most of my qualms stem more from my relationship with short story collections than these stories themselves. Definitely a must read for her fans, and those of the femgore genre (which I definitely am!). I'll be looking to get my hands on Private Rites too, next time I see it.
⭐⭐⭐(⭐?)/5
Y'all, short story collections are weird. I'm not sure I'm gonna be going for many of them in the future, unless they're connected by the same universe or characters and so on. Out of 9 stories, a third hit hard, another third was nice, and the remaining third was just... Huh??? And it's not even Armfield's doing, I'm sure, I've found this in ALL short story collections I've read!
Still, salt slow was a good time. Each story ends when it needs to, they don't tend to cut too short, or worse, drone on well after making their point. The sapphic undertones are refreshing and very well handled, with a good sprinkling of analysis on heteronormativity.
My favourite thing about this collection was the kind of horror Armfield writes. Unusual and paranatural manifestations abound, whether subtle and implied, or clear and eviscerated, they're mostly original and fresh, and also the kind that benefit from the story being short and self-contained. Only a few of the stories felt a bit more predictable in their direction/ending.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book, and I think most of my qualms stem more from my relationship with short story collections than these stories themselves. Definitely a must read for her fans, and those of the femgore genre (which I definitely am!). I'll be looking to get my hands on Private Rites too, next time I see it.