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underwaterlily's review against another edition
4.0
I spy, with my magic eye, a few gems here and there. I certainly wish I had a spaceman lover, or a ghost in my waterbed.
mehitabels's review against another edition
3.0
"I told him I did not know why I should live and he said 'Because I ask you to.'"
michelle_leitheoir's review
3.0
I loved how Butler was able to write from so many perspectives in this collection and master all of them. His characters were men, women, children (and one parrot), from high culture and low, from past and present, and they all felt so genuine. Each story had something to say about loss, and most of them were sadder than I was expecting. Since every title was ripped straight from a tabloid, I was expecting this to be goofy. And even the more humorous ones (I loved “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot” in college, and “Help Me Find My Spaceman Lover” was just hilarious) still had a familiar ache to them. Butler is an exceptionally talented writer. To take prompts from one of the basest forms of literature we have and turn it into art like this is truly impressive.
I liked when these stories would interact with each other. The Doomsday meteor one mentions several of the other stories, and bookending the collection are two different perspectives of the same events during the sinking of the Titanic. It was really elegant and tied much of the collection together.
But, like any collection, I liked some stories more than others, so once again I am averaging it out and giving it 3 stars. This was worth the read, though, as Butler writes beautifully, even when I’m not really digging the story, and he has a really good grip on the short story form.
I liked when these stories would interact with each other. The Doomsday meteor one mentions several of the other stories, and bookending the collection are two different perspectives of the same events during the sinking of the Titanic. It was really elegant and tied much of the collection together.
But, like any collection, I liked some stories more than others, so once again I am averaging it out and giving it 3 stars. This was worth the read, though, as Butler writes beautifully, even when I’m not really digging the story, and he has a really good grip on the short story form.
rachel_dacus's review
5.0
Robert Olen Butler is a master of the rhythms and poetry of fiction. His imaginative frames for stories leap into the surreal while touching deeply into the heart and humanity of his characters, even if the character is a reincarnated parrot or a demented former President. A collection to read and reread.
tdstorm's review
4.0
Some pretty impressive structuring in this collection. Butler finds a central metaphor and weaves a web around that core.
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