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ejclever's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
fantasynovel's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed most of the stories but I wasn’t totally satisfied for some reason. Some of the stories felt too short, like there was something missing. But they were all super imaginative and the themes were strong.
taylorthiel's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
For a short story collection this is great
lilygellman's review against another edition
5.0
Dreamlike, yes, but also rich with the sort of detail you can savor and turn over for hours. My favorites were the title story (“The Trojan War Museum”), “Iconography,” “Mysteries of the Mountain South,” and “The Gathering of Desire.” But there wasn’t a single weak story in the collection. And the through-lines wrestling (in one or two cases literally) with mythmaking, identity, culture, and memory were everywhere evident.
abbydee's review against another edition
Listen. Just gather ‘round for a minute while I try to explain how much I loved this, which is quite possibly my favorite thing I’ve read this year. I don’t know exactly why this story collection was the one to ring my heart like a tuning fork, but maybe the timing was right. I loved “Little Sister and Emineh”, “An Ottoman’s Arabesque”, and “A History of Girls.” I cried like a baby at the end of “Mysteries of the Mountain South”, the one where Edie cries and her grandmother tells her not to be a baby. And let’s be honest, I love all the other stories too, just less specifically. I’m here for the embedded lists, the fairy tale qualities, the well-meaning uncertainty, and the characters who never see conflict between their personal freedom and their caring for others. I love the toggling between voices, interrogation and storytelling by turns. I’ve been doing a lot of get-through-it reading lately, and was grateful to have something like this to savor. Is there more to it than that? I'm not sure. But I take this kind of reading experience where I can get it.
chrisralonso's review against another edition
4.0
Challenging and smart, these stories force the reader to pay extra close attention to their structure and movement. Ranging from topics like sponge diving, a fictional museum built by gods, and Turkish history, this is a book for those that like more cerebral fiction.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
4.0
Have you ever pulled a potato from the ground before it was ready? It looks like a thing that has been alive too long.In her dedication Ayşe Papatya Bucak thanks her parents, "who could be separated into my American half and my Turkish half but are really so much more."
The book is 10 stories: "The History of Girls," "A Cautionary Tale," "Iconography," "Little Sister and Emineh," "Mysteries of the Mountain South," "The Trojan War Museum," "Good Fortune," "The Dead," "An Ottoman's Arabesque," and "The Gathering of Desire." The writing style is exquisite. For example, the first section of the first story:
While we waited we were visited by the ghosts of the girls who had already died. Those who were closest to the explosion, in the kitchen sneaking butter and bread when the gas ignited, the ones who died immediately, in a sense without injury, the girls who died explosively.
The dead girls waited with us, amidst the rubble, our heads pillowed on it, our arms and legs canopied by it, some of us punctured by it. The rubble was heavy, of course. The weight of it made us wonder what happened to the softer things. Our sheets and blankets, our letters from home, our Korans, our class notes, the slips of paper we exchanged throughout the day, expressing our affections and disaffections for each other, for our teachers, for the rituals of our contained life. What about the curtains on our windows? we thought. The stories and poems we read to each other at night or the ones we kept private, folded in our pockets? What about our pockets? Our uniforms, our gym skirts, our head scarves and stockings? The too soft pillows we always complained of? The ones the oldest girls hoarded, sleeping with three or four stacked under their cheeks even though their heads sank into the too soft centers and their necks ached in the morning. The explosion, it seemed, turned everything to stone. Except us. We were soft then, softer than we ever we.
Have you ever seen a buzzard? They are all feathers and fat, not like skeletons at all, but soft like cushions. Except for their beaks and claws.
sapereaude's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
readingrosie's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed most of the stories but I wasn’t totally satisfied for some reason. Some of the stories felt too short, like there was something missing. But they were all super imaginative and the themes were strong.