Scan barcode
itsonmytbr's review against another edition
3.0
In the second story, Enoch Arden's One Night Stands, the main character asks a librarian for a book containing the eponymous poem. The librarian has never heard of Tennyson or Google, but chooses to call his grandmother for help because "she reads a lot". The Magic Laundry is far too small a book for a disgruntled librarian to get any satisfaction out of throwing, and the copy I was reading belonged to the library so I decided against burning it. I settled for reading the rest of the book with a bit of attitude and taking off an extra star.
brokenweed's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting mix of short stories that examine human behavior and do not always end the way you would expect.
see_sadie_read's review against another edition
4.0
I've said before that I'm not a great fan of short stories and as such, there are very few authors of short stories that I know and trust by name. Jacob Appel is one of them. Which is a bit of a miracle, as I only discovered his writing because I won several of his books through Goodreads. I enjoy that his stories are peopled by diverse and colorful casts, all of whom are flawed but relatable. I like that he doesn't just write for shock value, taking the darkest and therefore easiest path. In this collection, his characters are put in a variety of uncomfortable circumstances and they deal with them with all, some more successfully than others. The writing is clean and easy to read. The editing is sharp and book well worth picking up.
reader_mom_mn's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second book of Mr. Appel’s short story collections that I have read……..and LOVED!! The stories are often quirky (A girl who brings home a “rescued” baboon, or a magic laundry machine) but often tells tales of wonderful, everyday people in wacky situations that just bring out the humanness of the stories. This is another win for Mr. Appel and can’t wait to recommend this book to others! Great read!
bridie's review against another edition
4.0
Another great collection from Jacob Appel. So good, I started plugging it on Facebook when I was only halfway through. I'm so glad this came out when it did as I was going through some serious withdrawal after finishing Einstein's Beach House. Related, I've come to think there is some clever hypnotist mind trick going on with Appel's writing, as I wind up dreaming about these stories, I wake up thinking about them, and can't shake them off.
Overall, I'd say the storytelling is a bit more subtle in this collection, when compared to Einstein's Beach House, and that there is a bit more... edge to it as well. I liked it almost as well as Einstien's... but a couple stories didn't feel as tight to me, and there were a few editing issues across a couple of the stories, that interrupted the flow of the story a bit. They were in the two I read aloud to my husband, and I think I probably would've read over them if I wasn't reading aloud, but as it was it was a tiny bit disruptive. One interesting editorial miss was Mrs. Sproul being referred to as Mrs. Sparrow: This made me really curious about the process of characterization that Appel goes through. Sproul was the perfect name for the character, but I wonder how much the name Sparrow (which I'm assuming to have been the working choice) influenced how the character was portrayed physically.
Enoch Arden's One Night Stand absolutely blew me away. I can't for the life of me figure out exactly what it was—which is probably why I stay up at night thinking about these stories—but I found it to have incredible density and a raw, emotional quality. The characters seemed real and vulnerable; the conversations, authentic. This, to me, is perfect.
The Empress of Charcoal, I loved as well. It's just a really beautiful, touching, original story.
Exposure was HILARIOUS. It reminded me very much of some of Roald Dahl's stories for adults (think Switch Bitch). So very, very funny and among my favourites, even though I felt like it drifted a little bit about 3/4 of the way through. This was one of the stories that had a couple of those small missed edits.
House Call was poignant Natural Selection too, but with some great, funny moments as well. I loved each of these.
The Ataturk of the Outer Boroughs, I enjoyed, though maybe not quite as much as some of the others. It was interesting, well paced and richly illustrated but I didn't connect with Onur as easily as I did other characters throughout the collection; the ending swiftly changed that though, and left me feeling a sense of despair. Not that I long to feel despair, but I'm sure we all appreciate an author that can make us "feel all the feels," as the kids are saying these day.
The title story, The Magic Laundry, I probably should have read again before writing this review, because I feel like I must be missing something. This is the sole reason the collection is getting 4 stars from me instead of 5. I didn't connect with any of the characters, it really seemed to meander, and the ending seemed rushed. I guarantee that there will be people who feel differently, but it fell a little flat for me.
Rounding out the collection was Animal Control which I thoroughly enjoyed, though this was the second story with a couple missed edits. Quite a distinct voice here, and a very different character than I recall from any of the other stories I've read of Appel's. A great finish to this fabulous collection!
Overall, I'd say the storytelling is a bit more subtle in this collection, when compared to Einstein's Beach House, and that there is a bit more... edge to it as well. I liked it almost as well as Einstien's... but a couple stories didn't feel as tight to me, and there were a few editing issues across a couple of the stories, that interrupted the flow of the story a bit. They were in the two I read aloud to my husband, and I think I probably would've read over them if I wasn't reading aloud, but as it was it was a tiny bit disruptive. One interesting editorial miss was Mrs. Sproul being referred to as Mrs. Sparrow: This made me really curious about the process of characterization that Appel goes through. Sproul was the perfect name for the character, but I wonder how much the name Sparrow (which I'm assuming to have been the working choice) influenced how the character was portrayed physically.
Enoch Arden's One Night Stand absolutely blew me away. I can't for the life of me figure out exactly what it was—which is probably why I stay up at night thinking about these stories—but I found it to have incredible density and a raw, emotional quality. The characters seemed real and vulnerable; the conversations, authentic. This, to me, is perfect.
The Empress of Charcoal, I loved as well. It's just a really beautiful, touching, original story.
Exposure was HILARIOUS. It reminded me very much of some of Roald Dahl's stories for adults (think Switch Bitch). So very, very funny and among my favourites, even though I felt like it drifted a little bit about 3/4 of the way through. This was one of the stories that had a couple of those small missed edits.
House Call was poignant Natural Selection too, but with some great, funny moments as well. I loved each of these.
The Ataturk of the Outer Boroughs, I enjoyed, though maybe not quite as much as some of the others. It was interesting, well paced and richly illustrated but I didn't connect with Onur as easily as I did other characters throughout the collection; the ending swiftly changed that though, and left me feeling a sense of despair. Not that I long to feel despair, but I'm sure we all appreciate an author that can make us "feel all the feels," as the kids are saying these day.
The title story, The Magic Laundry, I probably should have read again before writing this review, because I feel like I must be missing something. This is the sole reason the collection is getting 4 stars from me instead of 5. I didn't connect with any of the characters, it really seemed to meander, and the ending seemed rushed. I guarantee that there will be people who feel differently, but it fell a little flat for me.
Rounding out the collection was Animal Control which I thoroughly enjoyed, though this was the second story with a couple missed edits. Quite a distinct voice here, and a very different character than I recall from any of the other stories I've read of Appel's. A great finish to this fabulous collection!
More...