Reviews tagging 'Violence'

And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges by Amber Sparks

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savvylit's review

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adventurous dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

There are a total of twenty-two stories in this witty, genre-busting collection. Somehow, even when the stories only span a few pages, Amber Sparks impressively packs a massive punch into a short space. At one point in the collection, she poses the following question: "And what is history, anyway, but the chance to dig up our skeletons and give them new stories?" Sparks clearly lets this question inform And I Do Not Forgive You as she takes familiar characters - real & imagined - and gives them the endings that they have always deserved. In this way, Sparks' fiction is reminiscent of Angela Carter - if Carter were a snarky, contemporary American woman.

Beyond the quick-paced and delicious retellings, Sparks also excels at stories with longer form. Two particular standouts are Everyone's a Winner in Meadow Park and The Eyes of Saint Lucy. Meadow Park is narrated by a witty, bored teen that is haunted by an irritating ghost. Saint Lucy is about a young woman inheriting her mother's trauma-informed view of the world. Both stories feature narrators so engaging that I found myself wanting more. I'd positively eat up a full-length novel by Sparks if it were helmed by a similarly shrewd teen.
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