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liketheday's review against another edition
3.0
This is a collection of possibly the strangest short stories you will read this year. Like, really. They're completely random and completely ridiculous with kids having to kill their parents and dead people going to work and salesmen shooting people who don't listen to their pitches and people opening not-real toy stores and machines that write poetry... but they're mostly pretty brilliant. There were a couple of stories that just didn't click with me, but in general they were just weird enough to keep my interest. As an example, the titular story is about a kid who decides to dress up as Hitler for Hallowe'en at school, but another kid decides to dress up as Anne Frank and the littlest Hitler's life becomes a teeny bit difficult. It's all pretty neat and you should totally read this if you have a warped sense of humor.
djflippy's review against another edition
3.0
There are very few short story collections that I like and while this is not in my top three, I did enjoy its surrealist edge.
jesssalexander's review against another edition
2.0
I really don't think I liked these stories but, like seeing roadkill, once I got started I couldn't tear my eyes away! It makes some good commentaries on modern society, addressing things like rampant American xenophobia, apathy and cruelty. Some of the stories-like the one about the family that eats little children every Wednesday- actually made my stomach turn because they are so disturbing. A bizarre read, not for the faint of heart.
jenniferdenslow's review against another edition
4.0
The characters range from the cozily familiar (pre-adolescent Doctor Who fans) to the bizarre (a bee-bearded lady), as do the situations. I loved how the stories kept me off balance, as I'd think I knew the world Boudinot was writing about but some event or detail would appear and upset my perspective.
celestihel's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of short stories by Ryan Boudinot was his first and I think I need to try some of the more recent work before I can fairly say whether I like the writing. The stories were all technically very well written and I did not find myself checking my watch, so to speak. He has a clear love of sci-fi, even in the stories that have not direct connection to the genre. I found the potpourri approach to be a lot of fun, never knowing what might come next.
However, I just kept thinking over and over that it was all trying too hard. The writing was effortless and a pleasure to read, but the story was always a little too hip, a little too cool, a little too “look how shocking.” I didn’t like the feeling of the knee-jerk hipster disregard that the stories made me feel, and it was every one. Hopefully this is tempered in later offerings.
However, I just kept thinking over and over that it was all trying too hard. The writing was effortless and a pleasure to read, but the story was always a little too hip, a little too cool, a little too “look how shocking.” I didn’t like the feeling of the knee-jerk hipster disregard that the stories made me feel, and it was every one. Hopefully this is tempered in later offerings.
donfoolery's review against another edition
5.0
No, I didn't just give this five stars just 'cos. I was debating between 3 and 4 stars, actually--there were a couple of stories whose endings really fell flat for me. The tale "So Little Time" pushed this collection over the top, because I remember being twelve years old and a Doctor Who fan, trying to cobble a Tom Baker costume together. I was the sort of dungeon master who designed traps like placing a Trapper underneath a Lurker Above just for those annoying player friends of mine whose characters did have names like The Annihilator and have a trillion hit points. Boudinot wrote about that world in much the same way Barry Hannah wrote about the South, with a voice that's spare, full of momentum, and very aware.
deadwolfbones's review against another edition
4.0
A very, very good first collection.
Boudinot has a virtually perfect ear/eye for his subject matter, and though his stories are mostly very similar structurally (start off weird and then either get progressively weirder or end in a burst of ultraweirdness/ultraviolence) the structure doesn't get old.
The final two stories, "So Little Time" and "Newholly" reveal a heart beneath the semi-glib surface, and it comes as a new wind at just the right time in the collection.
Also, "Absolute Boudinot" reminds me a lot of "The School," by Barthelme, which is always a good thing.
Boudinot has a virtually perfect ear/eye for his subject matter, and though his stories are mostly very similar structurally (start off weird and then either get progressively weirder or end in a burst of ultraweirdness/ultraviolence) the structure doesn't get old.
The final two stories, "So Little Time" and "Newholly" reveal a heart beneath the semi-glib surface, and it comes as a new wind at just the right time in the collection.
Also, "Absolute Boudinot" reminds me a lot of "The School," by Barthelme, which is always a good thing.
brittaniethekid's review against another edition
3.0
This is a great collection. Many of the stories have very shocking, unpredictable endings that just leave you gaping at the page when you finish. A few of them move a little slow, but over all, this is a great collection. I would definitely check out more from this author.
librarianlk's review against another edition
A book that had me turning to the card catalog immediately upon finishing in search of other books by Boudinot. Most of the stories feel like they were inspired by his dreams. The stories would not make much sense in the real world; they have the logic of dreams, which dissipates on waking. For example, wouldn’t it make perfect sense in a dream that a coworker come to the office in a bee beard, yet on waking you realize how improbable that is?