Reviews

With Teeth by Natanya Ann Pulley

emzeidman's review against another edition

challenging dark

3.0

milohno's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

2.0

jacob_longini's review against another edition

2.0

I was not a big fan of this short story collection. While there were definitely aspects of the writing that I appreciated, and I understood what Pulley was trying to do in several of the stories, I think the collection falls short of its goals, and this is evident in the reader's experience. There is a style available to short story writers in which they avoid a linear plot, forcing the reader to work out what is going on through glimpses of sense experience and heavy imagery. Pulley seems to be trying to go for this style, avoiding giving the reader anything too clear so that they have to work out the meaning through their emotional perception. In my opinion, this fell flat. There was so little straightforward description that it was a little exhausting to read. I found myself zoning out and needing to reread sections, trying to understand what it was that was happening. There are some lovely phrases, and the style is powerful: unfortunately, not enough attention was given to the reader's experience of the plot and the communication of meaning.