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Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'
Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold by Imogen Hermes Gowar, Naomi Booth, Emma Glass, Irenosen Okojie, Daisy Johnson, Natasha Carthew, Eimear McBride, Liv Little, Mahsuda Snaith, Kirsty Logan
8 reviews
savvylit's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Boggarts, fairies, selkies, pixies, shapeshifters, unsettling siblings.... Each of these fairytale motifs combine into the flawless piece of art that is Hag. The stories are lush, magical, creepy, and succinct. The all-female cast of protagonists is both loveable and believable -- despite their magical circumstances.
Prior to reading Hag, I had only been familiar with the work of one of the authors, Daisy Johnson. After falling in love with the rest, I immediately added all of the authors' works to my list of books to be read. The authors of Hag are wildly talented. If I found just one of their short stories impactful, then I can't imagine how much I'll enjoy the rest of their work.
I'd wholeheartedly recommend this collection if, like me, you're a fan of gothic tales that ooze magical realism and include feminist themes and multidimensional queer characters.
Prior to reading Hag, I had only been familiar with the work of one of the authors, Daisy Johnson. After falling in love with the rest, I immediately added all of the authors' works to my list of books to be read. The authors of Hag are wildly talented. If I found just one of their short stories impactful, then I can't imagine how much I'll enjoy the rest of their work.
I'd wholeheartedly recommend this collection if, like me, you're a fan of gothic tales that ooze magical realism and include feminist themes and multidimensional queer characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Violence, and Toxic relationship
nicnevin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A wonderful collection of reimagined folk tales I had never heard of before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
danidamico's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold es el primer libro que me compré con mi propio dinero, después de recibir mi primer sueldo. Lo vi recomendado en una cuenta de bookstagram y supe inmediatamente que necesitaba leerlo: escritoras mujeres, reversiones modernas de leyendas, la región de Inglaterra, Escocia e Irlanda... algunas de mis cosas favoritas. Y no me equivoqué, esta antología me encantó.
El libro está compuesto por diez relatos escritos por diez escritoras británicas e irlandesas que reversionan y reinterpretan leyendas antiguas de la región. Boggarts, duendes, fantasmas y criaturas mágicas aparecen de distintas formas en esta colección. Cada escritora tiene su propio estilo y se nota la diversidad de voces en los cuentos, hay algo para todos los gustos.
Personalmente, de los diez relatos solo me disgustaron tres (The Sisters, The Tale of Kathleen y The Droll of the Mermaid), lo cual está muy bien para una antología. El resto me gustó muchísimo, aunque mis preferidos son:
The Holloway de Imogen Hermes Gowar
Sour Hall de Naomi Booth
Between Sea and Sky de Kirsty Logan
The Dampness is Spreading de Emma Glass
A Retelling de Daisy Johnson
Esos cinco relatos en particular me fascinaron, ya sea por motivos estéticos y técnicos, por la historia que cuentan, por las descripciones de la naturaleza o por la carga emotiva. Cada uno de estos relatos tiene algo que logró cautivarme como lectora y producir algo en mí. Estoy segura que volveré a leerlos.
El libro está compuesto por diez relatos escritos por diez escritoras británicas e irlandesas que reversionan y reinterpretan leyendas antiguas de la región. Boggarts, duendes, fantasmas y criaturas mágicas aparecen de distintas formas en esta colección. Cada escritora tiene su propio estilo y se nota la diversidad de voces en los cuentos, hay algo para todos los gustos.
Personalmente, de los diez relatos solo me disgustaron tres (The Sisters, The Tale of Kathleen y The Droll of the Mermaid), lo cual está muy bien para una antología. El resto me gustó muchísimo, aunque mis preferidos son:
The Holloway de Imogen Hermes Gowar
Sour Hall de Naomi Booth
Between Sea and Sky de Kirsty Logan
The Dampness is Spreading de Emma Glass
A Retelling de Daisy Johnson
Esos cinco relatos en particular me fascinaron, ya sea por motivos estéticos y técnicos, por la historia que cuentan, por las descripciones de la naturaleza o por la carga emotiva. Cada uno de estos relatos tiene algo que logró cautivarme como lectora y producir algo en mí. Estoy segura que volveré a leerlos.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Racism
syllareads's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This anthology is a wild mix of different Folktales from the British Isles brought back to life by 10 talented authors from all around the Isles. These retellings focus both on the magical aspects of the folktales but manage to quietly plant some modern approaches to feminism as well, giving these ideas ways to grow within ancient settings - it was quite magical to witness.
I can't clearly say that I have a favourite, as all of these tales were beautiful in their own ways, but two I particularly enjoyed were The Panther's Tale, where a lost and bewitched Princess is brought over to the Isles, ripped from her homeland and imbued with a curse that turns her into a large panther, and meets a miller's wife and her daughter - and Between Sea and Sky, a rather different take on selkie legends, where a young woman bears a selkie man a child thus born between sea (the selkie man) and sky (her name is Skye).
All of these tales had a fascinating way with words, imbueing old legends with queer, free and beautifully fierce women intend on telling their stories, if nothing else, and I am very glad I read it. I did not know about most of these tales beforehand, either, and I'm doubly glad the book includes the old legends which these authors took to make them their own, so I could look them up afterward and trace what inspired them through the original lines.
I highly recommend these short stories to anyone who feels like the magical, whimsical and horrifying world of fairytales and folktales is preferrable to our own; though be warned: a lot of these stories deal with the real world as well, just perhaps through the lense of something older walking the earth.
I can't clearly say that I have a favourite, as all of these tales were beautiful in their own ways, but two I particularly enjoyed were The Panther's Tale, where a lost and bewitched Princess is brought over to the Isles, ripped from her homeland and imbued with a curse that turns her into a large panther, and meets a miller's wife and her daughter - and Between Sea and Sky, a rather different take on selkie legends, where a young woman bears a selkie man a child thus born between sea (the selkie man) and sky (her name is Skye).
All of these tales had a fascinating way with words, imbueing old legends with queer, free and beautifully fierce women intend on telling their stories, if nothing else, and I am very glad I read it. I did not know about most of these tales beforehand, either, and I'm doubly glad the book includes the old legends which these authors took to make them their own, so I could look them up afterward and trace what inspired them through the original lines.
I highly recommend these short stories to anyone who feels like the magical, whimsical and horrifying world of fairytales and folktales is preferrable to our own; though be warned: a lot of these stories deal with the real world as well, just perhaps through the lense of something older walking the earth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, and Grief
questingnotcoasting's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
This was an interesting collection. My favourite stories were by Naomi Booth, Mahsuda Snaith, Imogen Hermes Gowar and Kirsty Logan and I found the introduction by Carolyne Larrington really insightful. The tales are dark, weird and unsettling. There were no stories I really disliked but there were a few I felt indifferent towards. However I appreciated the inclusion of the original tales at the end because it was really interesting to see how they were reinterpreted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Alcoholism
autumnal_daydreams's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Infertility, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
whatellisreadnext's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘫𝘢𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.
Hag is a bunch of English Folktale retellings from a selection of authors. It's been such a long time since I read a short story collection, especially one featuring different writers, but this was just what the doctor ordered. I've been feeling a bit bogged down with my reading lately and it was so nice to dip in and out of this one, just to read a story or two at a time.
I definitely don't know enough about English Folklore, so I had a lot of fun delving into these weird and unnerving stories. The majority of these are super dark, so definitely perfect reading for this time of year. I loved how diverse all the stories were, featuring queer protagonists and women of colour.
Some of the stories I loved and others I felt tried a bit too hard. My two favourites were Between Sea and Sky by Kirsty Logan and The Dampness is Spreading by Emma Glass. I've already been looking into their other books and hoping to buy some very soon (when I'm no longer on a book buying ban💁🏻♀️)
I find it really hard to rate short story collections, especially when they feature different authors so here are all the stories and how I felt about them:
A Retelling 2⭐
Sour Hall 4⭐
Rosheen 4⭐
Between Sea and Sky 5⭐
The Panther's Tale 4⭐
The Tale of Kathleen 2⭐
The Sisters 4⭐
The Dampness is Spreading 5⭐
The Drill of the Mermaid 4⭐
The Holloway 4⭐
Overall, it was a great collection of stories and if you love retellings, I highly recommend you grab yourself a copy. I mean this amazing cover was enough to sell me on it. Thanks so much to Virago Press for the gifted copy🧡
Hag is a bunch of English Folktale retellings from a selection of authors. It's been such a long time since I read a short story collection, especially one featuring different writers, but this was just what the doctor ordered. I've been feeling a bit bogged down with my reading lately and it was so nice to dip in and out of this one, just to read a story or two at a time.
I definitely don't know enough about English Folklore, so I had a lot of fun delving into these weird and unnerving stories. The majority of these are super dark, so definitely perfect reading for this time of year. I loved how diverse all the stories were, featuring queer protagonists and women of colour.
Some of the stories I loved and others I felt tried a bit too hard. My two favourites were Between Sea and Sky by Kirsty Logan and The Dampness is Spreading by Emma Glass. I've already been looking into their other books and hoping to buy some very soon (when I'm no longer on a book buying ban💁🏻♀️)
I find it really hard to rate short story collections, especially when they feature different authors so here are all the stories and how I felt about them:
A Retelling 2⭐
Sour Hall 4⭐
Rosheen 4⭐
Between Sea and Sky 5⭐
The Panther's Tale 4⭐
The Tale of Kathleen 2⭐
The Sisters 4⭐
The Dampness is Spreading 5⭐
The Drill of the Mermaid 4⭐
The Holloway 4⭐
Overall, it was a great collection of stories and if you love retellings, I highly recommend you grab yourself a copy. I mean this amazing cover was enough to sell me on it. Thanks so much to Virago Press for the gifted copy🧡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness
ellekreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones, and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.
From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle, and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today.
CW: infertility, miscarriage, child loss, child abuse, domestic abuse (and tbh several more)
Anyone else find short story collections really hard to review? This is an Angela Carter-esque collection of folktale retellings, with a big fat feminist twist. There's ten short stories in total and the source material for the tales is included at the end, which was definitely appreciated. As with most short story collections, some were absolutely standout (for me, A Retelling and The Panther's Tale), most were enjoyable, and I didn't gel well with a couple of them.
I had varying degrees of familiarity with the original folktales the stories were based on, but I don't feel this affected my enjoyment of any of the pieces. There is a consistent unsettling thread woven through all of the tales, as well as strong feminist tones, and this lent to the collection's cohesive feel. Overall I feel this is a solid collection and would be perfect for a cosy, mildly spooky, unsettling read.
Big thanks to NetGalley, the authors, Virago, and Little Brown UK for the review copy. This is available to buy now!
From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle, and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today.
CW: infertility, miscarriage, child loss, child abuse, domestic abuse (and tbh several more)
Anyone else find short story collections really hard to review? This is an Angela Carter-esque collection of folktale retellings, with a big fat feminist twist. There's ten short stories in total and the source material for the tales is included at the end, which was definitely appreciated. As with most short story collections, some were absolutely standout (for me, A Retelling and The Panther's Tale), most were enjoyable, and I didn't gel well with a couple of them.
I had varying degrees of familiarity with the original folktales the stories were based on, but I don't feel this affected my enjoyment of any of the pieces. There is a consistent unsettling thread woven through all of the tales, as well as strong feminist tones, and this lent to the collection's cohesive feel. Overall I feel this is a solid collection and would be perfect for a cosy, mildly spooky, unsettling read.
Big thanks to NetGalley, the authors, Virago, and Little Brown UK for the review copy. This is available to buy now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Child death, and Infertility
More...