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karenleagermain's review against another edition
4.0
Last year, I was lucky enough to score tickets to see David Sedaris speak at UCLA. I learned that every year when he goes on tour, he promotes a different writer that he admires. Last year he was promoting Tim Johnston and his short story collection, “Irish Girl Stories.” I immediately put it on my Amazon wishlist and have finally gotten around to reading it.
I really admire Sedaris and respect his opinion, so I read this collection with very high expectations. Johnston is solid writer with this collection of dark, unsettling stories. I felt zero personal connection to any of the characters or stories, yet they still grabbed me. I did feel, that the stories might appeal more to men, as a lot of them have to do with the bonds between brothers and male friendship. I could be off on that, but as a female, I felt like I might be missing a vital piece of understanding.
Johnston is strong in the short story format, but I felt like every single story in the collection could have held it’s own in a longer format. I hope that he decides to write a novel.
I really admire Sedaris and respect his opinion, so I read this collection with very high expectations. Johnston is solid writer with this collection of dark, unsettling stories. I felt zero personal connection to any of the characters or stories, yet they still grabbed me. I did feel, that the stories might appeal more to men, as a lot of them have to do with the bonds between brothers and male friendship. I could be off on that, but as a female, I felt like I might be missing a vital piece of understanding.
Johnston is strong in the short story format, but I felt like every single story in the collection could have held it’s own in a longer format. I hope that he decides to write a novel.
nkives's review against another edition
4.0
This has been on my list of books to read for awhile. I showed up at Maple Street (I think) and he was doing a signing and it sounded interesting, but I didn't pick up the book. Then a week later, David Sedaris was in town, and talked about the book. Finally, I recently came across it again.
8 short stories, nothing having to do with each other. The early stories may seem better, but I think it might just be the order you read them, and then starting to recognize a pattern in the stories. He seems to like the end the stories right as you are wanting more. That might be the weakest thing I can think of because even with that I still didn't want to put it down, and was exciting about starting each new story.
8 short stories, nothing having to do with each other. The early stories may seem better, but I think it might just be the order you read them, and then starting to recognize a pattern in the stories. He seems to like the end the stories right as you are wanting more. That might be the weakest thing I can think of because even with that I still didn't want to put it down, and was exciting about starting each new story.
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