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moonmagister's review
3.75
Not a book of bad people doing bad things but a book of sad people doing inevitable things. Some stories are incredible, others are forgettable but it certainly was a visit to a place and life that was wildly unfamiliar.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Terminal illness, Car accident, Ableism, Murder, Rape, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Hate crime, Violence, Suicide, Sexual violence, Cancer, Animal death, Sexual assault, Racism, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Sexism, and Misogyny
boysen_bean's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
4.0
dadoodoflow's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There’s a couple of good ones but the last half the book was a slog which is a weird thing to say about Woodrell. Feels like a sketchbook.
booksnguitars's review
Stalled out on this at first, but came back to it. Man, what a writer! You might not like or even relate to the protagonists of this collection, but I believe there is a lot of truth to the characterizations of Ozark folk. Wonderful use of language.
psteve's review
4.0
A small volume containing 12 excellent stories. If you've read Winter's Bone or seen the movie, you have a sense of the kind of people Woodrell is writing about. A nasty lot. But he captures their characters well, with a lucid, dry prose that's as unforgettable as the characters. Really good reading, and reminds me I need to re-read Give Us a Kiss. I highly recommend these stories.
untravel's review
4.0
Woodrell is a great read. Roughly the same neighborhood as McCarthy, but much more accessible. And by accessible, I don't mean 'nice but inferior'. Accessible is just a different kind of good. I like McCarthy a lot, but sometimes his prose is quite dense. Most of the time, that's part of fun--the intellectual pleasure of working it out, solving the puzzle.
But sometimes I'm in no mood for puzzles. Sometimes, I just want the picture. And Woodrell sure as hell can paint.
But sometimes I'm in no mood for puzzles. Sometimes, I just want the picture. And Woodrell sure as hell can paint.
jeanetterenee's review
2.0
Look at the cover art. What do you see? Barren landscape. Dead grass and dead trees beneath a darkening sky. When you look at the interior landscapes of Woodrell's characters, what will you see? About the same. Storms, bleakness, dead things.
Woodrell is a child of the Ozarks. He writes what he knows, and he writes it well. But after a handful of stories, he starts to sound like One-Note Johnny. He may play it on different instruments, but it's still the same note -- Ozark Dark.
Once you figure out it's never going to end well, you begin reading with mental breath bated. This seems like a nice little story...wonder when the girl's going to hack her mother's neck open with a meat cleaver... Which, I suppose, is the purpose of the genre.
Fans of the bleak and the noir have written laudatory reviews of this collection. If this is not your usual fare but you want to see what Woodrell can do, I'd steer you toward his novel, Winter's Bone. It showcases his writing chops and has more appeal for mainstream readers.
Woodrell is a child of the Ozarks. He writes what he knows, and he writes it well. But after a handful of stories, he starts to sound like One-Note Johnny. He may play it on different instruments, but it's still the same note -- Ozark Dark.
Once you figure out it's never going to end well, you begin reading with mental breath bated. This seems like a nice little story...wonder when the girl's going to hack her mother's neck open with a meat cleaver... Which, I suppose, is the purpose of the genre.
Fans of the bleak and the noir have written laudatory reviews of this collection. If this is not your usual fare but you want to see what Woodrell can do, I'd steer you toward his novel, Winter's Bone. It showcases his writing chops and has more appeal for mainstream readers.
luckylico's review
4.0
I'm so excited to say (for the very first time ever) that I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
This collection of short stories features tragically troubled characters in gritty and hopeless situations (just my cup of tea). Similar to Winter's Bone, the stories focus on those on the fringes of society that many of us don't consider. Meth dealers, rapists, criminals, and war veterans are the main characters of several of the stories.
Uncle was my favorite of the stories. About a young girl who lives with her uncle, who she fears because he is a rapist, and she is maturing to an age where she begins to garner his interest. After witnessing her uncle violently rape a girl, she attacks him. Her attack leaves him helpless and in a wheelchair, and the girl becomes his caretaker. It's a beautifully written and haunting story.
This collection of short stories features tragically troubled characters in gritty and hopeless situations (just my cup of tea). Similar to Winter's Bone, the stories focus on those on the fringes of society that many of us don't consider. Meth dealers, rapists, criminals, and war veterans are the main characters of several of the stories.
Uncle was my favorite of the stories.
sophronisba's review
2.0
I loved Winter's Bone (and found it very authentic). But--and I say this as someone who grew up about twenty minutes from where these stories are set--the characters in this book did not ring true to me. The writing is lovely, but I don't believe it.