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mariebrunelm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Welcome to the wonderful feeling of falling in love with a short story collection.
Julia Armfield has a knack for writing intense, flawed female characters who are on the brink. Whether they are teenagers in that uncomfortable space between childhood and adulthood, or women going through a break-up or grief, most of them are teetering, and ready to embrace the mess that is their life. I loved that each story was very different from the others, but they had very tenuous, easy-to-miss links that tied this collection together. Most of them start off with a very strong concept that is given in the first lines of the story, and then explore the repercussions of that concept not on the grand scale of geopolitics (though the author easily could) but at the level of bodies. Be ready for both implied and full-on body horror depending on the stories, with a scrumptious taste for words and that delightful hesitation between speculative and realist.
My favourite story was The Great Awake, which was very timely (although a bit late) because I’ve just finished hosting a monthly writing workshop on the theme of sleep.
Rep: queer characters, mostly sapphic. One is on the asexual spectrum.
PS: I bought this book when I first went cat-sitting for a friend, so it is doubly special !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy and Miscarriage
errie's review against another edition
dark
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Miscarriage, and Gore
dhritigupta's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
4.0
“I told her I was sorry for not being better or for not trying harder and she looked at me with eyes that were a haunting all their own”
i really liked the way she writes people, but the endings of most of these fell a bit flat for me
my fave stories were:
- the great awake
- formerly feral
- granite
i really liked the way she writes people, but the endings of most of these fell a bit flat for me
my fave stories were:
- the great awake
- formerly feral
- granite
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Miscarriage
fionag's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely love Armfield’s writing and her debut collection I think really reflects who she is as a writer and her potential. All of the stories I was captivated by, even if some weren’t my stand out favourites. Her prose is so lyrical and sometimes disgusting and I’m always transported fully into the world in which she writes. I may be bias because I love short stories, but these little flavours of tales all linked by girlhood, the sea, reminiscing and horror are absolutely brilliant. I think my absolute favourites are Salt Slow, Cassandra After, the Collectables, and The Great Awake. I love the imagery of the ocean and all of its weird wonderfulness which Armfield employs. The last story in particular made me even more excited for the upcoming Private Rites.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Miscarriage
myhomextheroad's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Minor: Lesbophobia and Biphobia
avasbookmark's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death, Lesbophobia, and Miscarriage
yinflower's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Body horror
sofipitch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Absolutely beautiful prose, easily the best thing about this collection. These are little weird stories that each one I would be excited for in the beginning and at the end of most I felt weren't as weird, didn't go as hard as they should have. The only one I didn't feel that way about was "Cassandra After". I'll read this author's novel, short stories feeling like they just abruptly stopped rather than ended is not something I feel is unique to this author so maybe I'll like her novel more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Gore
karmachamillionaire's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
fictionalsarah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Miscarriage, Death, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail