Scan barcode
pattydsf's review
2.0
My vacation reading got off to a slow start. I brought a number of books that I have owned for awhile but have never gotten around to reading. Some, like this one, I am not even sure why I wanted to read them at all.
I like short stories and I very much like the first story in this collection. Puchner made me feel for his characters and I finished the story wishing I knew more about the people whose lives we had joined for a few pages. However, I couldn’t sustain my interest.
Lately, I have struggled with relating to younger protagonists in the books I read. I don’t want to turn into a curmudgeonly old woman who can’t relate to “those young people.” Hopefully this is just a phase. However, it meant I didn’t really like Puchner’s characters and that I was really happy to be done with this book.
I like short stories and I very much like the first story in this collection. Puchner made me feel for his characters and I finished the story wishing I knew more about the people whose lives we had joined for a few pages. However, I couldn’t sustain my interest.
Lately, I have struggled with relating to younger protagonists in the books I read. I don’t want to turn into a curmudgeonly old woman who can’t relate to “those young people.” Hopefully this is just a phase. However, it meant I didn’t really like Puchner’s characters and that I was really happy to be done with this book.
peelspls's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a while since I've been so deeply engrossed in a work of literary fiction. I was drawn to this collection when I'd read "Essay #3: Leda and the Swan" elsewhere.
What Puchner does really well is render the atmosphere of the stories through the character's voice. Through the observant eyes of children, teens, pets and secondary others, Puchner underscores the emotional motivations of other characters in the story. For example, when the unnamed protagonist in "Neon Tetra" suspects that his father is leaving his emotional role in the relationship because he wants to cheat on his wife, or when Desmond in "Legends", suspects that his tour guide is trying to seduce his wife. Another really powerful moment was when the narrator Quinn expects Delaney to kiss her in "A Fear of Invisible Tribes" but discovers that her own perception of Delaney's inferiority gets in the way of her actually finding meaning in that connection.
Infidelity is a common theme across most of the stories and strangely enough across all sorts of emotional relationships - "Child's Play" explores the violation of a sacred friendship, "Body Language" explores the infidelity of a man who is losing his wife to a terminal disease and "Animals Down Below" explores how a parent can be unfaithful to their child, and leave them hungry for love.
What Puchner does really well is render the atmosphere of the stories through the character's voice. Through the observant eyes of children, teens, pets and secondary others, Puchner underscores the emotional motivations of other characters in the story. For example, when the unnamed protagonist in "Neon Tetra" suspects that his father is leaving his emotional role in the relationship because he wants to cheat on his wife, or when Desmond in "Legends", suspects that his tour guide is trying to seduce his wife. Another really powerful moment was when the narrator Quinn expects Delaney to kiss her in "A Fear of Invisible Tribes" but discovers that her own perception of Delaney's inferiority gets in the way of her actually finding meaning in that connection.
Infidelity is a common theme across most of the stories and strangely enough across all sorts of emotional relationships - "Child's Play" explores the violation of a sacred friendship, "Body Language" explores the infidelity of a man who is losing his wife to a terminal disease and "Animals Down Below" explores how a parent can be unfaithful to their child, and leave them hungry for love.
patlibrary89's review against another edition
2.0
Not a bookclub book. Borrowed from Claudia. Strange book - 9 short stories all together. Most very melancholy.
infinitejoe's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars all the way.
I read Model Home a while ago, and loved that book. I can't believe it took me this long to read his collection of short stories, but I'm glad I finally did.
I saw a New York Times blurb that described Puchner as "technically gifted and emotionally insightful", and I think that about sums it up. His writing is almost perfection, and he can come from any angle without missing a beat. Humorous, humane, creepy, suspenseful, depressing, hopeful. He masters all of it and more.
I really wish he would be a little more productive, though. I would read anything this guy put down on a page.
I read Model Home a while ago, and loved that book. I can't believe it took me this long to read his collection of short stories, but I'm glad I finally did.
I saw a New York Times blurb that described Puchner as "technically gifted and emotionally insightful", and I think that about sums it up. His writing is almost perfection, and he can come from any angle without missing a beat. Humorous, humane, creepy, suspenseful, depressing, hopeful. He masters all of it and more.
I really wish he would be a little more productive, though. I would read anything this guy put down on a page.
jonathanwlodarski's review
5.0
The stories that most enchanted in me this collection were "Neon Tetra," "Animals Here Below," and best of all "Essay #3: Leda and the Swan." Puchner's stories all glimmer and shine, but these three were the best. None of them left me feeling indifferent or bored, which is gratifying. I would say that even my least favorite tales ("Diablo" and "Missions") are passable. I give it a 5 because the whole thing is great, and I might have even given it a 5 for "Essay #3" alone. Seriously. So good.
4.5/5
4.5/5
More...