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casspro's review against another edition
5.0
Bomer's first section of stories in "Inside Madeleine" are relatable, nostalgic, and have just the right amount of wry humor. They were stories that I could easily listen to in the car and enjoyably pass the time. I could breeze right through these stories and have a relatively pleasant time while doing so, and then seamlessly passing on to the next book on my to-read list.
And then I got to the second section, that shared it's title with the novel.
Divided into 18 or so chapters, "Inside Madeleine", follows the childhood, youthful adolescence, and young adulthood of Maddy. All Madeleine wants to do is consume; her entire existence is devoted to filling her insides. She stuffs herself with food in her childhood, in her teenage years she fills all of her orifices with male attention. She consumes the love of her first boyfriend mark, she feasts on his attention. Maddy absorbs her responsibilities at work and domestic duties. Eventually, Maddy consumes everything there is to devour in life. And then she implodes and begins to digest herself. Her body disappears inside itself and takes all the vitality and hunger Maddy had with it.
It's an incredibly raw story and its one that left me lingering. I couldn't move right on to the next book on my to-read list. This book let me keep a part of it with me when it was over, and that means all the difference.
And then I got to the second section, that shared it's title with the novel.
Divided into 18 or so chapters, "Inside Madeleine", follows the childhood, youthful adolescence, and young adulthood of Maddy. All Madeleine wants to do is consume; her entire existence is devoted to filling her insides. She stuffs herself with food in her childhood, in her teenage years she fills all of her orifices with male attention. She consumes the love of her first boyfriend mark, she feasts on his attention. Maddy absorbs her responsibilities at work and domestic duties. Eventually, Maddy consumes everything there is to devour in life. And then she implodes and begins to digest herself. Her body disappears inside itself and takes all the vitality and hunger Maddy had with it.
It's an incredibly raw story and its one that left me lingering. I couldn't move right on to the next book on my to-read list. This book let me keep a part of it with me when it was over, and that means all the difference.
horfhorfhorf's review against another edition
3.0
My only wish was that Bomer had given every story as much room to breathe as the one the collection takes its name from.
pearloz's review against another edition
3.0
Oof. For the most part, it felt like a collection of stories written by someone trying to piss off their parents, or an adolescent trying to convince everyone that they hate themselves, a collection that uses taboo as a shortcut to edginess. Read it based on the Loren Stein blurb and will henceforward take his blurbs and recommendations w/ a grain of salt.
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
5.0
I was mostly indifferent to the sex and complicated sexual relationships in this but the incandescent rage in these girls and women made me feel seen, uncomfortably so.
lazygal's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes, pushing the envelope is not what it's cracked up to be and this collection of short stories proves it. There's nothing really experimental here, nothing that really reveals anything "true" about the characters or the situations. Of all the stories, only one really spoke to me (the first) and, sadly, the sex wasn't even exciting.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
reveal's review against another edition
dnf @ 67%
Mainly I feel like this book had nothing to say on a fundamental level. As a result, every character, every setting, every story is a permutation of the other; after the first one, things quickly wear off and we're left with eminently unpleasant characters (but by no means *difficult*, as they are all one-dimensional), and a prose that has no flourish whatsoever.
This wouldn't be a problem to me if there wasn't "two years", a short story following a 29 year old man having sex with a girl ten years younger complete with extreme detail about sex and nothing but contempt for the female character (yes, that's the story) and then right after follows "inside madeleine" in which the opening section details Madeleine's love for food in such a manner that you once again just feel the utter contempt. Then when **NSFW** madeleine got all sorts of infections because she inserted everything into her vagina including a rubber duck **NSFW** happened, i skimmed through, made sure its just a permutation of all the other stories, and I just deleted the book off my kindle.
Mainly I feel like this book had nothing to say on a fundamental level. As a result, every character, every setting, every story is a permutation of the other; after the first one, things quickly wear off and we're left with eminently unpleasant characters (but by no means *difficult*, as they are all one-dimensional), and a prose that has no flourish whatsoever.
This wouldn't be a problem to me if there wasn't "two years", a short story following a 29 year old man having sex with a girl ten years younger complete with extreme detail about sex and nothing but contempt for the female character (yes, that's the story) and then right after follows "inside madeleine" in which the opening section details Madeleine's love for food in such a manner that you once again just feel the utter contempt. Then when **NSFW** madeleine got all sorts of infections because she inserted everything into her vagina including a rubber duck **NSFW** happened, i skimmed through, made sure its just a permutation of all the other stories, and I just deleted the book off my kindle.
anthroxagorus's review against another edition
4.0
trigger warnings: drug/alcohol, possible incest, dubious consent, anorexia, underage sex, sex itself
Inside Madeleine sets up the thesis (they don't want to see young girls win) in the first story "eye socket girls," then tells some uncomfortable stories of girlhood, and then caps it off with the titular "Inside Madeleine." Maddy's story arcs back on itself - she might've become her mother, had she had a kid. It also arcs back to "eye socket girls," starting from the beginning. Either you're competing with the girls around you (better sucking cock then the others, better than the blind girl), or you're smoking together. Girl, girl, don't you see that fire?
This book doesn't really make sense until the end, so bare with it until then. Bare with it, you might. Overall, the stories had so many similarities - smoking, sex, breasts, they hardly stood on their own, which is what I expected. What the characters go through was far from what I experienced, so some of it just didn't land for me. I think the book was written for the author and, conversely, someone else.
Still, gives a lot to think about.
Inside Madeleine sets up the thesis (they don't want to see young girls win) in the first story "eye socket girls," then tells some uncomfortable stories of girlhood, and then caps it off with the titular "Inside Madeleine." Maddy's story arcs back on itself - she might've become her mother, had she had a kid. It also arcs back to "eye socket girls," starting from the beginning. Either you're competing with the girls around you (better sucking cock then the others, better than the blind girl), or you're smoking together. Girl, girl, don't you see that fire?
This book doesn't really make sense until the end, so bare with it until then. Bare with it, you might. Overall, the stories had so many similarities - smoking, sex, breasts, they hardly stood on their own, which is what I expected. What the characters go through was far from what I experienced, so some of it just didn't land for me. I think the book was written for the author and, conversely, someone else.
Still, gives a lot to think about.
judip's review against another edition
2.0
Des nouvelles inégales, et auxquelles il manque un peu de profondeur dans l'analyse psychologique des personnages qui sont toujours un peu construites sur le même schéma (à l'image de la nouvelle d'intro et celle d'outro en forme de miroirs ou d'épanadiplose).
Les terrains défrichés sont intéressants et constituent des enjeux majeurs dans le rapport des femmes à la société, aux hommes, à leur corps, mais on reste toujours sur un sentiment d'inachevé et de flou sur les intentions de l'auteure.
Les terrains défrichés sont intéressants et constituent des enjeux majeurs dans le rapport des femmes à la société, aux hommes, à leur corps, mais on reste toujours sur un sentiment d'inachevé et de flou sur les intentions de l'auteure.
devrose's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book I've read where the characters aren't mostly happy with a few problems. No one leads a happy life here. The problems displayed in the stories take over the characters' lives. There are no easy resolutions.
This book is graphic. Graphic drug and alcohol use. Graphic sex. One short story is definitely erotica. The title novella could be defined as pulp fiction, maybe - while sex is not the point of the story, there is a whole lot of it.
I liked it. I liked the fact that there was no sugarcoating. And - as much as I hate to say it, this book made me feel a little bit better about myself. Nothing I've had to deal with in my life has ever come close to the problems these girls have to face.
This book is graphic. Graphic drug and alcohol use. Graphic sex. One short story is definitely erotica. The title novella could be defined as pulp fiction, maybe - while sex is not the point of the story, there is a whole lot of it.
I liked it. I liked the fact that there was no sugarcoating. And - as much as I hate to say it, this book made me feel a little bit better about myself. Nothing I've had to deal with in my life has ever come close to the problems these girls have to face.
justcallmegeekyg's review against another edition
3.0
Real rating: 3.5
This was one of the most powerful pieces of writing I've ever read. Each story was more vicious than the last. Paula Bomer created a series of dark, visceral, brutally honest portraits of women below the surface of their skin.
The stories were often difficult for me to get through, not because they were poorly written, but because of the strength of her writing; much like Sarah Kane, Bomer pulls no punches and makes no excuses for her often violent, unflinching honesty. I would need to take breaks, usually right in the middle of a story because her words made my pulse pound and heartbeat quicken.
While I appreciated her incredible storytelling, the stories are not ones I'd like to read. It's both the best and worst reading experience I've ever had, which is why my review is split. I don't want to dissuade people with a stronger stomach from reading this piece; it is excellent. But it's definitely not for everybody.
This was one of the most powerful pieces of writing I've ever read. Each story was more vicious than the last. Paula Bomer created a series of dark, visceral, brutally honest portraits of women below the surface of their skin.
The stories were often difficult for me to get through, not because they were poorly written, but because of the strength of her writing; much like Sarah Kane, Bomer pulls no punches and makes no excuses for her often violent, unflinching honesty. I would need to take breaks, usually right in the middle of a story because her words made my pulse pound and heartbeat quicken.
While I appreciated her incredible storytelling, the stories are not ones I'd like to read. It's both the best and worst reading experience I've ever had, which is why my review is split. I don't want to dissuade people with a stronger stomach from reading this piece; it is excellent. But it's definitely not for everybody.