Reviews

Skin Thief: Stories by Suzan Palumbo

cadimy's review

dark tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

monstergirlreading's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

whatsmacksaid's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I loved how the arrangement of stories starts very Canadian/Western and steadily flows into more "Trinidadian settings and dialect." (<-- the author's words) I only vaguely noticed as I was reading but was delighted to find it was deliberate.

murioi's review

dark hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

menshevixen's review against another edition

5.0

Review and Q&A to come. Thanks to NH for the ARC--a fantastic collection.

dfostermartin's review

4.0

Skin Thief was a collection of excellently written and compelling short stories. Thoroughly enjoyed each one, but my favorite was probably Kill Jar. The author notes at the end that she begins with stories that are more western in dialect and presentation and shifts to stories with more Trinidadian influence as the book progresses. This was an interesting approach that I appreciated and I enjoyed.

cmrosens's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 I loved this collection. It's got such a great voice and all the stories have their strengths, but I especially appreciated the way it was structured. It moves from a very Canadian flavour to more Trinidadian as you go through, with such great folklore and depth to the journey. I really love 'Laughter Among the Trees' and 'Douen' especially, and it was great to nerd out over references to other Gothic stories like Rapaccini's Daughter (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1844) in 'Kill Jar', and how that story especially plays with and goes beyond its influences and material.

I really love the twisted relationships and depictions of exploration and self-discovery, the growth of some characters and the devastating losses of others. It's a powerful collection that I'm going to enjoy reading again. 

raincorbyn's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

2treads's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was such a great collection of stories. I can't remember reading and feeling an ache of longing and connection with the main characters as I did with this collection.  I can't wait for Suzan to give us more stories.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Xenophobia, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death, Car accident, Bullying, Blood, and Animal death

mygeekblasphemy's review

dark emotional

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What a dark and gorgeous collection of stories. About—well, many things, of course, but what most struck me—transformation and becoming, about leaving behind people that try to own you, deceive you, shape you, people who won't accept you unless you hide yourself and mirror their face, their morality. I'm a huge fan of Suzan Palumbo's work. "Of Claw and Bone" might still be my personal favorite, but I was happy for the chance to reread other stories I love (like "Douen" and "Laughter Among the Trees"), as well as find other wonderful and new (to me) stories (like "The Pull of the Herd," "Kill Jar," and "Tessellated.") Truly, a lovely collection.