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Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'
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
3 reviews
j_squaredd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Alcohol
Moderate: Pregnancy, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, and Addiction
Minor: Sexual violence
nicnevin's review against another edition
- 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
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
whatellisreadnext's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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 ban๐๐ปโโ๏ธ)
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 2โญ
Sour Hall 4โญ
Rosheen 4โญ
Between Sea and Sky 5โญ
The Panther's Tale 4โญ
The Tale of Kathleen 2โญ
The Sisters 4โญ
The Dampness is Spreading 5โญ
The Drill of the Mermaid 4โญ
The Holloway 4โญ
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 copy๐งก
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness