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thepoptimist's review against another edition
3.0
The first half of this collection of short stories by Teresa Solana (translated by her husband) is just a hella fun smattering of crime vignettes. We've got prehistoric detectives, sunscreen wearing vampires, murderous grannies and soap opera loving ghosts. Gleefully black social satire that shifts gears for the second half. Here Solana teases the reader to make the connections across these stories. Less fantastical and instead focused on a small section of Barcelona. (I can't help but think of George from the movie Booksmart smugly pronouncing Barcelona with the spanish lisp - I imagine him cowering somewhere at the pivotal pharmacy) It's still got that playful style, satirical noir as it were, despite being anchored in the "real" world.
abookishtype's review against another edition
5.0
Teresa Solana’s collection, The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories, is one that rewards readers who have a twisted sense of humor. Peter Bush’s translation preserves every twist of each story, as well as maintains Solana’s sly portraits of characters who are hilariously oblivious to what’s going on around them, ones who are more than willing to eliminate people for the slightest gain, and the ones who are just plain unlucky. I had more fun with this collection than I probably should have...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
nadinekc's review against another edition
3.0
I love the humor that comes from inserting a modern sensibility into a historical setting, so I couldn't pass up a book with this title. While I liked some of the stories very much, the title story didn't do enough with the premise, or do it as well as my two favorites - the title story in [b:Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned|4291946|Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned|Wells Tower|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312001821l/4291946._SY75_.jpg|4339519], and the Norwegian comedy series Norsemen - both set in Viking times. That said, all the stories were quick and humorous reads - I love her way with murderous women :) My favorite story in the first section was Happy Families but the second section had the best stories by far, made even more entertaining by the little connections between them. My favorites were Flesh-Coloured People, The Second Mrs. Appleton and But There Was Another Solution.
stephbookshine's review against another edition
4.0
*I received a free ARC of this book with thanks to the author/publisher and Random Things Blog Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
This book is made up of short stories split into two sections: ‘Blood, Guts and Love’ and ‘Blood Connections’. The stories in the first section are separate and distinct from each other, but the stories in ‘Blood Connections’ contain subtle links and threads that tie them together, forming a network of individual stories that highlights the interconnectedness (and simultaneously, isolation) of modern city life.
The stories are generally told in the first-person or in a third-person intimately omniscient narrative, and the characters are often unpleasant; after all, some of them are murders! There is a common theme of self-centred self-interest in many of the tales, as the characters go about their lives occasionally intersecting others but with an intense focus on their own wants and fears.
The style of writing is direct and punchy. Short, pithy sentences have a powerful impact, especially when the content can be shocking or unexpected, but it did mean that many of the characters had quite similar narrative voices. This may relate to the book being a translation from the original Spanish?
Most of the stories here feature some form of crime and there is a twisted sense of humour and strong feel for the ironic, which lightens the sometimes macabre tone and makes even the grotesque amusing. I particularly enjoyed the titular short story as this comedic tone came through clearly in the prehistoric satire of modern gender relations. Other stories provoked different strong emotions, for instance ‘Paradise Gained’ nearly gave me an ulcer as I read, with my anxiety almost as high as Sergi’s!
My favourite aspect of these short stories was the way in which Teresa Solana plays with sudden changes of tone, pace and plot direction to subvert the reader’s expectations, with some surprising results.
These stories are a great quick read for fans of crime fiction, with dashes of humour and a distinct flavour of contemporary Barcelonan life (well, life on the dark side!).
After clearing it with Ethelred, I started my interrogations and spoke to every member of the tribe to see if anyone was without an alibi. Unfortunately, they all had one, because they swore to a man they were snoozing in the cave. As I’d spent the night at the necropolis reflecting on the question of existence, I realized I was the only one without a rock-solid alibi. But I’d swear I didn’t kill Athelstan. I’m almost absolutely sure on that front.
– Teresa Solana, ‘The First Prehistoric Serial Killer’ in The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and other stories
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2018/08/15/blog-tour-the-first-prehistoric-serial-killer-and-other-stories-teresa-solana/
This book is made up of short stories split into two sections: ‘Blood, Guts and Love’ and ‘Blood Connections’. The stories in the first section are separate and distinct from each other, but the stories in ‘Blood Connections’ contain subtle links and threads that tie them together, forming a network of individual stories that highlights the interconnectedness (and simultaneously, isolation) of modern city life.
The stories are generally told in the first-person or in a third-person intimately omniscient narrative, and the characters are often unpleasant; after all, some of them are murders! There is a common theme of self-centred self-interest in many of the tales, as the characters go about their lives occasionally intersecting others but with an intense focus on their own wants and fears.
The style of writing is direct and punchy. Short, pithy sentences have a powerful impact, especially when the content can be shocking or unexpected, but it did mean that many of the characters had quite similar narrative voices. This may relate to the book being a translation from the original Spanish?
Most of the stories here feature some form of crime and there is a twisted sense of humour and strong feel for the ironic, which lightens the sometimes macabre tone and makes even the grotesque amusing. I particularly enjoyed the titular short story as this comedic tone came through clearly in the prehistoric satire of modern gender relations. Other stories provoked different strong emotions, for instance ‘Paradise Gained’ nearly gave me an ulcer as I read, with my anxiety almost as high as Sergi’s!
My favourite aspect of these short stories was the way in which Teresa Solana plays with sudden changes of tone, pace and plot direction to subvert the reader’s expectations, with some surprising results.
These stories are a great quick read for fans of crime fiction, with dashes of humour and a distinct flavour of contemporary Barcelonan life (well, life on the dark side!).
After clearing it with Ethelred, I started my interrogations and spoke to every member of the tribe to see if anyone was without an alibi. Unfortunately, they all had one, because they swore to a man they were snoozing in the cave. As I’d spent the night at the necropolis reflecting on the question of existence, I realized I was the only one without a rock-solid alibi. But I’d swear I didn’t kill Athelstan. I’m almost absolutely sure on that front.
– Teresa Solana, ‘The First Prehistoric Serial Killer’ in The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and other stories
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2018/08/15/blog-tour-the-first-prehistoric-serial-killer-and-other-stories-teresa-solana/
annemaries_shelves's review
3.0
Delightfully absurdist and quirky but overall not very memorable.
The first section were individual stories often dealing with murder. I particularly enjoyed “Still Life No. 41” and “Happy Families”. The second section was a series of interconnected stories, and finding the common threads was definitely fun. My favourites would be “The Second Mrs. Appleton”, “Paradise Gained” and “Birds of a Feather.”
The first section were individual stories often dealing with murder. I particularly enjoyed “Still Life No. 41” and “Happy Families”. The second section was a series of interconnected stories, and finding the common threads was definitely fun. My favourites would be “The Second Mrs. Appleton”, “Paradise Gained” and “Birds of a Feather.”
thetheatricallinguist's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
kalventure's review
3.0
This is such a unique collection of short stories! I enjoyed I'm a Vampire and Happy Families the most out of this collection, but found each of the stories to be refreshingly creative. Each short story is a quick read and span a wide array of dark topics: from the perspective of ghosts to that of a kind-of-reformed vampire to modern "art."
I struggled quite a bit with the writing style, the short and at times abrupt sentences distracted me from the narrative; however, I think that may be a result of the translation itself as it is consistent. Since I can read Spanish, I would be interested to read one of these stories in the original language. The voice of each narrator was eerily similar in "tone" despite each story being completely different, and I am not sure if that is the translator's choice, the author's, or a combination of the two.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review!
I struggled quite a bit with the writing style, the short and at times abrupt sentences distracted me from the narrative; however, I think that may be a result of the translation itself as it is consistent. Since I can read Spanish, I would be interested to read one of these stories in the original language. The voice of each narrator was eerily similar in "tone" despite each story being completely different, and I am not sure if that is the translator's choice, the author's, or a combination of the two.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review!
tonstantweader's review
3.0
The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories is a collection of short stories, many of them connected with a noir sensibility. The title story opens the anthology and it is hilarifying. Someone is smashing the heads of tribesmen while they sleep. After the third death, the chief suspects something is amiss and sets our Stone Age Sam Spade on the case. With no pretense of authenticity, the story is full of anachronisms that are pure entertainment. This is a light-hearted triple homicide. As to the solution, well, he thinks he solved it.
There’s another story with some very class-conscious ghosts that is quite amusing and a vampire who has simply lived too long, finding the modern era not respectful enough.
I enjoyed The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories a lot, loving the sharp humor and the completely absurd stories. It’s a short, fast collection of stories that grab you instantly, whirl you away to Absurdistan and deposit you back in reality for another ride. It’s fun and sometimes that everything you need.
The connected stories that center on Barcelona have their own element of the absurd, giving us the perspective of the hapless woman who decides to make ends meet by renting a portion of her home to vacationers who turn out to be international criminals or the translator who happens to be assigned to translate their meeting. Solano consistently resists doing the usual.
I received a copy of The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories at Bitter Lemon Press
Teresa Solano at Bitter Lemon Press
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/10/25/9781912242078/
There’s another story with some very class-conscious ghosts that is quite amusing and a vampire who has simply lived too long, finding the modern era not respectful enough.
I enjoyed The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories a lot, loving the sharp humor and the completely absurd stories. It’s a short, fast collection of stories that grab you instantly, whirl you away to Absurdistan and deposit you back in reality for another ride. It’s fun and sometimes that everything you need.
The connected stories that center on Barcelona have their own element of the absurd, giving us the perspective of the hapless woman who decides to make ends meet by renting a portion of her home to vacationers who turn out to be international criminals or the translator who happens to be assigned to translate their meeting. Solano consistently resists doing the usual.
I received a copy of The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories at Bitter Lemon Press
Teresa Solano at Bitter Lemon Press
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/10/25/9781912242078/
stephbookshine's review
4.0
*I received a free ARC of this book with thanks to the author/publisher and Random Things Blog Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
This book is made up of short stories split into two sections: ‘Blood, Guts and Love’ and ‘Blood Connections’. The stories in the first section are separate and distinct from each other, but the stories in ‘Blood Connections’ contain subtle links and threads that tie them together, forming a network of individual stories that highlights the interconnectedness (and simultaneously, isolation) of modern city life.
The stories are generally told in the first-person or in a third-person intimately omniscient narrative, and the characters are often unpleasant; after all, some of them are murders! There is a common theme of self-centred self-interest in many of the tales, as the characters go about their lives occasionally intersecting others but with an intense focus on their own wants and fears.
The style of writing is direct and punchy. Short, pithy sentences have a powerful impact, especially when the content can be shocking or unexpected, but it did mean that many of the characters had quite similar narrative voices. This may relate to the book being a translation from the original Spanish?
Most of the stories here feature some form of crime and there is a twisted sense of humour and strong feel for the ironic, which lightens the sometimes macabre tone and makes even the grotesque amusing. I particularly enjoyed the titular short story as this comedic tone came through clearly in the prehistoric satire of modern gender relations. Other stories provoked different strong emotions, for instance ‘Paradise Gained’ nearly gave me an ulcer as I read, with my anxiety almost as high as Sergi’s!
My favourite aspect of these short stories was the way in which Teresa Solana plays with sudden changes of tone, pace and plot direction to subvert the reader’s expectations, with some surprising results.
These stories are a great quick read for fans of crime fiction, with dashes of humour and a distinct flavour of contemporary Barcelonan life (well, life on the dark side!).
After clearing it with Ethelred, I started my interrogations and spoke to every member of the tribe to see if anyone was without an alibi. Unfortunately, they all had one, because they swore to a man they were snoozing in the cave. As I’d spent the night at the necropolis reflecting on the question of existence, I realized I was the only one without a rock-solid alibi. But I’d swear I didn’t kill Athelstan. I’m almost absolutely sure on that front.
– Teresa Solana, ‘The First Prehistoric Serial Killer’ in The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and other stories
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2018/08/15/blog-tour-the-first-prehistoric-serial-killer-and-other-stories-teresa-solana/
This book is made up of short stories split into two sections: ‘Blood, Guts and Love’ and ‘Blood Connections’. The stories in the first section are separate and distinct from each other, but the stories in ‘Blood Connections’ contain subtle links and threads that tie them together, forming a network of individual stories that highlights the interconnectedness (and simultaneously, isolation) of modern city life.
The stories are generally told in the first-person or in a third-person intimately omniscient narrative, and the characters are often unpleasant; after all, some of them are murders! There is a common theme of self-centred self-interest in many of the tales, as the characters go about their lives occasionally intersecting others but with an intense focus on their own wants and fears.
The style of writing is direct and punchy. Short, pithy sentences have a powerful impact, especially when the content can be shocking or unexpected, but it did mean that many of the characters had quite similar narrative voices. This may relate to the book being a translation from the original Spanish?
Most of the stories here feature some form of crime and there is a twisted sense of humour and strong feel for the ironic, which lightens the sometimes macabre tone and makes even the grotesque amusing. I particularly enjoyed the titular short story as this comedic tone came through clearly in the prehistoric satire of modern gender relations. Other stories provoked different strong emotions, for instance ‘Paradise Gained’ nearly gave me an ulcer as I read, with my anxiety almost as high as Sergi’s!
My favourite aspect of these short stories was the way in which Teresa Solana plays with sudden changes of tone, pace and plot direction to subvert the reader’s expectations, with some surprising results.
These stories are a great quick read for fans of crime fiction, with dashes of humour and a distinct flavour of contemporary Barcelonan life (well, life on the dark side!).
After clearing it with Ethelred, I started my interrogations and spoke to every member of the tribe to see if anyone was without an alibi. Unfortunately, they all had one, because they swore to a man they were snoozing in the cave. As I’d spent the night at the necropolis reflecting on the question of existence, I realized I was the only one without a rock-solid alibi. But I’d swear I didn’t kill Athelstan. I’m almost absolutely sure on that front.
– Teresa Solana, ‘The First Prehistoric Serial Killer’ in The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and other stories
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2018/08/15/blog-tour-the-first-prehistoric-serial-killer-and-other-stories-teresa-solana/
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