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brittanyjoy's review against another edition
1.0
This was the closest I’ve come this year to a DNF. It felt like a collection of half-baked stories trying too hard to be intellectual. It danced around modern social issues, but fell flat for me.
graviereads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
2.0
Oh good grief. This book of short stories has to be one of the worst books I’ve read in a while. They’re supposed to be snapshots of life that look at the way life is now, or in the recent past, but a lot of the time they felt like rough drafts of something that was supposed to be longer, or more accurately edited.
The most obvious examples of this include a short story about a racial attack in the late 1950s. Mid way through the story there’s a reference to e-mails being sent. My immediate reaction was “Wait what now? Have I jumped over a bunch of pages by accident? Well I hadn’t. The reference to e-mails (in a 1950s short story) was there for all to see.
Another example is a story about 2 friends who swap stories about people they know, and things they’ve seen. Setting aside that they excuse paedophilia, the ending feels rushed, like Ms. Smith wasn’t quite sure how to end story. You might be okay with the “and she woke up to find it was all a dream”, but if you are, don’t forget paedophilia was condoned (by the characters at least).
Finally, it might be a little too PC. We have every type of minority here, which is fine, we need more diversity in our books. This said, what are we supposed to think when minorities rub up against each other, as in the story of a trans woman trying to buy a corset, and the argument she has with a Middle Eastern family? Who is the protagonist? Both? Neither? Or are we supposed to use it as a springboard to consider ourselves? Because I’m not sure it worked as that either. The characters overreacted to each other, and irritated me as a consequence.
Writing this, I’m inclined to think Ms. Smith is trying to have her cake and eat it. Pastiching “Woke Culture” and having a dig at it at the same time, when I’d’ve preferred her to pick a side more clearly.
So all in all, I’m not particularly impressed, either way.
The most obvious examples of this include a short story about a racial attack in the late 1950s. Mid way through the story there’s a reference to e-mails being sent. My immediate reaction was “Wait what now? Have I jumped over a bunch of pages by accident? Well I hadn’t. The reference to e-mails (in a 1950s short story) was there for all to see.
Another example is a story about 2 friends who swap stories about people they know, and things they’ve seen. Setting aside that they excuse paedophilia, the ending feels rushed, like Ms. Smith wasn’t quite sure how to end story. You might be okay with the “and she woke up to find it was all a dream”, but if you are, don’t forget paedophilia was condoned (by the characters at least).
Finally, it might be a little too PC. We have every type of minority here, which is fine, we need more diversity in our books. This said, what are we supposed to think when minorities rub up against each other, as in the story of a trans woman trying to buy a corset, and the argument she has with a Middle Eastern family? Who is the protagonist? Both? Neither? Or are we supposed to use it as a springboard to consider ourselves? Because I’m not sure it worked as that either. The characters overreacted to each other, and irritated me as a consequence.
Writing this, I’m inclined to think Ms. Smith is trying to have her cake and eat it. Pastiching “Woke Culture” and having a dig at it at the same time, when I’d’ve preferred her to pick a side more clearly.
So all in all, I’m not particularly impressed, either way.
hazelnutperson's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
tea_ffany's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bridieeflorence's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
sambowyer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
isabookabel's review against another edition
3.0
Undoubtedly brilliant writing but the form of weaving one story into into another into another probably just wasn't for me - was very well read on audiobook but I needed to be paying a lot of attention because of this and so may have missed finer details.