Reviews

Like a House on Fire by Cate Kennedy

aproxic's review

sad tense

That last story hit me in the heart
So did the one with the back injury
So did the nursing home
So did the whale one - the wife disability and snow globe 

beberela's review

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

madd133's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

3.0

Read for Year 12 School

essjay1's review

3.0

The short stories featured here are related only in so far as to be about the business of life. The details of living that make up most of our waking hours.

Whirlpool, 72 Derwents are the strongest in my opinion - both 5 star reads, so cleverly written and so astutely observed. The author really nailed the tension, the confusion, the atmosphere in 72 Derwents. Ashes is good too.

kajasmith's review

4.0

reading this for school and annotating it felt like i was taking therapy notes abt each person but every chapter was written so well, i only read like 5/6 stories so i think 3 stars is good for now but i may read more and it may change!!

edit: i have changed it from 3 to 4 stars bc i have read like most of the stories now and i actually love so many of them,, flexion, laminex and mirrors and 72 derwent are fantastic stories but the title story, whirlpool and static fell a bit flat for me

allymae's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I absolutely flew through this. Despite the short stories being about tough topics, they were written in a way that made them very easy to digest.

I didn't find many of them overly relatable as they were mostly written about things I hadn't experienced.

The three stand out stories for me were:
Whirlpool
Static 
Seventy Two Derwents

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Domestic abuse

latterature's review

5.0

Riveting. Kennedy’s short stories explore the lives and losses of ordinary people with heartbreaking clarity.

cactuswildflower's review

4.0

I particularly enjoyed this collection of short stories which compels the reader to examine life’s imperfections. The characters are real and relatable.

cosyliterature's review

2.0

2.5/5

a little hit or miss, some of the stories were great but some of them were weak and most of them were just alright

realisticreader1's review

slow-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0