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howard's review
3.0
This didn't work for me. I really liked one story (Given Sufficient Desperation), liked one (Recordings of a More Personal Nature), and mostly felt neutral/bored about the rest. I didn't really dislike any of them either but taken as a whole I came away disappointed. I don't think I get along with Bogi Takács' story telling style.
razzberry_pi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Anthology series of a bunch of weird queer fiction, lots of scifi and fantasy influences but also some body horror. Really cool to see the Jewish/Kabbalah pressence in a lot of the stories, as well as Hungarian culture/folklore.
Content warnings are provided in the back of the book for most of the stories, but missing for "Unifications", and "To Rebalance the Body".
Content warnings are provided in the back of the book for most of the stories, but missing for "Unifications", and "To Rebalance the Body".
chirson's review against another edition
4.0
Full disclosure: I received an ebook of this collection from the author, and I know Bogi on here/on Twitter; I think my review is largely unaffected by our acquaintance.
This was my last Pride Read, and perhaps the queerest of them all - and that is definitely a compliment. Bogi's writing forces the reader to rethink their perspective, surprises, pushes boundaries, defamiliarises and estranges and at the same time, seems focused on the intimate, the bodily, the sacred. It's very much in step with significant 21st century literary and theoretical concerns: the stories engaged with body as affected by our environments and power relations, history and religion, and on cognition as negotiated and strange. The human and non-human are not obvious or simple.
They were also very, very distinctive, and engaging with so many other texts. I am sure if I had more than a very, very cursory (think: one or two reads) knowledge of Hungarian or Jewish literary traditions (and history, and so on), I would get much more out of them. But I still found plenty to think about.
I didn't enjoy all the short stories equally; I found the ones about kink largely "this is fine but not my thing" and some of the early stories cerebrally enjoyable on the level of language and images but not terribly affecting emotionally. However, the later stories, and particularly Standing on the Floodbanks, as well as stories focusing on the tensions and productive intersections of various identities with Jewish identity and history, to speak to me and my own experiences. The hauntedness of Eastern Europe, for example, was very well rendered.
I read the collection quickly even though I was actually quite busy with a family visit and work. I hope that attests to my enjoyment as well.
This was my last Pride Read, and perhaps the queerest of them all - and that is definitely a compliment. Bogi's writing forces the reader to rethink their perspective, surprises, pushes boundaries, defamiliarises and estranges and at the same time, seems focused on the intimate, the bodily, the sacred. It's very much in step with significant 21st century literary and theoretical concerns: the stories engaged with body as affected by our environments and power relations, history and religion, and on cognition as negotiated and strange. The human and non-human are not obvious or simple.
They were also very, very distinctive, and engaging with so many other texts. I am sure if I had more than a very, very cursory (think: one or two reads) knowledge of Hungarian or Jewish literary traditions (and history, and so on), I would get much more out of them. But I still found plenty to think about.
I didn't enjoy all the short stories equally; I found the ones about kink largely "this is fine but not my thing" and some of the early stories cerebrally enjoyable on the level of language and images but not terribly affecting emotionally. However, the later stories, and particularly Standing on the Floodbanks, as well as stories focusing on the tensions and productive intersections of various identities with Jewish identity and history, to speak to me and my own experiences. The hauntedness of Eastern Europe, for example, was very well rendered.
I read the collection quickly even though I was actually quite busy with a family visit and work. I hope that attests to my enjoyment as well.
jayisreading's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
I feel torn about this book. I absolutely loved that Takács drew so much from eir identity as a Hungarian Jewish agender trans person who is also neuroatypical to craft a very queer speculative world that explored an array of topics and spaces (in some cases, quite literally, stories were in outer space). I also loved the worldbuilding that e accomplished in so many of these stories, even the ones that were only a few pages long. Also, how could you not love a title like The Trans Space Octopus Congregation?
I think the issue I took with this book is more of a “it’s not you, it’s me” situation. One, I shouldn’t have approached this as a conventional short story collection since a lot of them weren’t quite short stories. (I mean, even Charlie Jane Anders, who wrote the introduction for the book, called it a “spellbook.”) I think Takács leaned heavily into crafting atmospheric and conceptual stories as opposed to your typical short story having fleshed out characters, plot, etc. In addition, I admit that science fiction doesn’t always work for me, and it was the case that I couldn’t get into more than just a handful of these stories. That’s not the fault of the author by any means.
I’m glad to have read this book despite feeling torn about it (which, again, is more of a me problem). Oh, another great thing about this book is that Takács took the time to write all the content warnings for specific stories in the back. I would love to see more authors practice doing this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Ableism, War, Body horror, and Colonisation
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Drug use, and Racism
bamboobones_rory's review against another edition
5.0
This is some of the most expansive science fiction I've read, full stop. I loved the interconnections within the stories of ecological, queer, religious, and gender themes. This science fiction is creative and smart in the world of science fiction, but the science fiction cannot be separated from the parts that are queer and Jewish.
Like many science fiction collections, it's very much "go big or go home", asking questions about memory, interspecies encounters, life as individual vs. and ecosystem, gender exclusion, political oppression, and the pairings of technology and religion. Some stories also deal with trauma, trauma recovery, and kink, and there are content warnings in the back of the book. I'm recommending it to fans of speculative and "hard" science fiction (world-building and concept driven more so than character).
I loved so many of the stories that when I was marking stories that were my favorites before I returned my friend's copy to them, I realized that my "top favorites" were like 75% of the book!
Like many science fiction collections, it's very much "go big or go home", asking questions about memory, interspecies encounters, life as individual vs. and ecosystem, gender exclusion, political oppression, and the pairings of technology and religion. Some stories also deal with trauma, trauma recovery, and kink, and there are content warnings in the back of the book. I'm recommending it to fans of speculative and "hard" science fiction (world-building and concept driven more so than character).
I loved so many of the stories that when I was marking stories that were my favorites before I returned my friend's copy to them, I realized that my "top favorites" were like 75% of the book!
baronessekat's review against another edition
2.0
I totally picked up this book because of the title... that and it would fulfill a category in a reading challenge. I really wish I could say I liked it. I didn't hate it, but I certainly did not like it.
This is a collection of short stories by the author. They seem to have a central theme of gender, body shape and form and a look at power exchange relationships. None of that bothered me. What did was that it felt like every single story just ended. Not even a soft conclusion. Just stop.
I can't say I'd recommend this book but I would not dissuade someone if they wanted to read it. And honestly... it's got a cool title.
This is a collection of short stories by the author. They seem to have a central theme of gender, body shape and form and a look at power exchange relationships. None of that bothered me. What did was that it felt like every single story just ended. Not even a soft conclusion. Just stop.
I can't say I'd recommend this book but I would not dissuade someone if they wanted to read it. And honestly... it's got a cool title.
herbalknight's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5