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jelundberg's review against another edition
5.0
I gulped down this book over two days (the stories are all fairly short, and read quickly), and was quite taken with the fable-like style Wong has chosen to employ. It gives the stories a timeless quality, a deceptive simplicity that feels appropriate for children until the more subversive elements sneak up on you. Fans of Margo Lanagan's fiction would adore this book, and I think it could rightfully qualify as Young Adult in the US; American publishers should take note.
winkshan's review against another edition
3.0
Took me a while to finish this book because, well, you can just pick up wherever you left off hahaha but anyway it wasn't really my cup of tea. Short stories in general probably aren't my cup of tea and while the writing is simple and it was generally an easy read, I felt like I only appreciated the stories after reading the afterword/analysis at the end. Maybe I'm just dumb? HAHAHA I think at some points, the need to be condensed made the stories vague:"-) being concise is hard. aiya some were a hit and some were a miss. It's like that.
yaizacanopoli's review
3.0
A very gay and magical collection of stories. I liked the queerness of these stories a lot, but unfortunately didn't get along with the writing style in a lot of the tales. The author tries too hard to make a point, his metaphors becoming too obvious in the process, the stories turning into cliches. The dialogue is probably the worst part, reading extremely unnatural and forced, making the relationships between the characters seem inauthentic.
There were, however, a few stories I really liked. 'The Boy With The Flower That Grew Out Of His Ass' was definitely my favourite one, and it's one that is quite well-known in Singapore. It addresses homophobia in a creative way, with striking imagery and subtle dialogue and interactions. It was very well-crafted, and I could feel the fragility of the characters' relationships (and lives, even) emanating from the page.
I also really enjoyed 'The Elf & The Knight', although I didn't like that the author chose to bring back the same characters for a few more stories. It felt very random and disjointed, and I didn't get the point of having a mini series in the middle of a collection of otherwise single stories.
The collection definitely ends on a high note with the last two stories, 'The Cave' and 'The Old Man With The Golden Voice'. I really enjoyed both of those and thought they built strong characters and settings with very few words. I once again had some issues with the author trying to make the moral of the story too obvious (in 'The Cave' especially), but generally thought they were strong, memorable stories.
If you like the sound of this collection and want to give it a go, I would encourage you to pick it up and see for yourself how you feel about it. It's not perfect by any means, but it does have its merit.
There were, however, a few stories I really liked. 'The Boy With The Flower That Grew Out Of His Ass' was definitely my favourite one, and it's one that is quite well-known in Singapore. It addresses homophobia in a creative way, with striking imagery and subtle dialogue and interactions. It was very well-crafted, and I could feel the fragility of the characters' relationships (and lives, even) emanating from the page.
I also really enjoyed 'The Elf & The Knight', although I didn't like that the author chose to bring back the same characters for a few more stories. It felt very random and disjointed, and I didn't get the point of having a mini series in the middle of a collection of otherwise single stories.
The collection definitely ends on a high note with the last two stories, 'The Cave' and 'The Old Man With The Golden Voice'. I really enjoyed both of those and thought they built strong characters and settings with very few words. I once again had some issues with the author trying to make the moral of the story too obvious (in 'The Cave' especially), but generally thought they were strong, memorable stories.
If you like the sound of this collection and want to give it a go, I would encourage you to pick it up and see for yourself how you feel about it. It's not perfect by any means, but it does have its merit.
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