Le Guin gets the point across with such amount of nuance in just a few pages. She's really unmatched. Not a single word is wasted. Le Guin gets the point across with such amount of nuance in just a few pages. She's really unmatched. Not a single word is wasted. ...more
A total mixed bag, so I'm gonna rate each story individually:
Out There Pretty great. I liked the concept of blots - artificial, too-perfect-to-be-real A total mixed bag, so I'm gonna rate each story individually:
Out There Pretty great. I liked the concept of blots - artificial, too-perfect-to-be-real men plaguing dating apps and seducing women to steal their data. The fact that the main character went to such great lengths to find a dude who wasn't a blot, was relieved by his assholish behaviour only to get sick of it in the end and consider the blots anyway is a great summary of the state of cishet men lol 4 stars
The Last Woman On Earth A rather simplistic portrayal of male entitlement. I say portrayal, because there is zero exploration of the concept. 2.5 stars
Heart Seeks Brain An unsettling concept alone does not a story make. 2 stars
The Void Wife This one I really liked. Existential and humorous. 4 stars
Shelter Straight couples are so fucking weird (also this doesn't strike me as an attempt to satirize them, so... really??). But the story does really benefit from a longer arc. 3 stars
The Head In The Floor It seems to be a pattern with the shorter stories in this collection - there is a concept and that's it. They don't SAY anything. The stylistic choice also really grated on me, with the narrator imitating realistic speech and repeating "like" in every sentence. 2 stars
Tahoe I have already completely forgotten about it. 2 stars
The Bone Ward The pattern continues - the longer stories really seem to be this author's stronger suit! I was a bit tired of the painful heteronormativity by this point and really, is this amount of internalized misogyny normal in straight women? Seeing all other women as competition ready to steal some mediocre ass man? BUT the ending does really make up for it! Very good. 4 stars
Doe Eyes I wish it went through with the ending vol 1 2.5 stars
The House's Beating Heart Far too short to do anything interesting with the concept! 2.5 stars
A Scale Model Of Gull Point This one is pretty good. A little different from the other stories. Maybe I just like reading about survival. 3.5 stars
Dating A Somnambulist Rather silly. 2 stars
Moist House Thisssss is what I'm talking about! Take a weird concept and go through with it, examine what it means! This story did that, definitely one of the best. 4.5 stars
The Turkey Rumble I wish it went through with the ending vol 2 2.5 stars
Bug Sur My favourite story. Way to end on a high note. It's a companion piece to the first one, this time half from the perspective of the blot - a harmless, naive one, his narration is done extremely well - and a woman who finds herself feeling something for him. Quite beautiful. 5 stars
The average score seems to be a near perfect 3 stars and this is also how I feel about this short story collection anyway. I'd like to see the author write something long-form as she seems better at building the narrative over a longer concept. Some of the overarching sentiments were also too heteronormative for me but that's just my taste....more
I loved some of the stories, especially the ones with a tie to nature ("Becoming Trees" was amazing), but some of the other ones were a bit too hea3.5
I loved some of the stories, especially the ones with a tie to nature ("Becoming Trees" was amazing), but some of the other ones were a bit too heavy-handed for my taste. The writing was wonderful but then again, made most stories a little too similar in tone.
Nevertheless this is a very interesting collection....more
Yes, yes, yes - this is the level of complexity that I want while reading about friendships, fractured bonds and familial ties! This collection of shoYes, yes, yes - this is the level of complexity that I want while reading about friendships, fractured bonds and familial ties! This collection of short stories does an amazing job exploring those topics, often against the backdrop of recent Korean history. The stories are maybe a little too similar in tone for me to feel completely blown away by this book, so I would recommend not reading them all at once, but this is the only fault I can find. ...more
This was: 1) very monotonous with its bleakness 2) also at the same time, quite uneven - some stories breathtakingly amazing, some exhausting and tediouThis was: 1) very monotonous with its bleakness 2) also at the same time, quite uneven - some stories breathtakingly amazing, some exhausting and tedious
Even though I didn't vibe with this one, I adore Machado's style, she's incredibly talented and I love how she plays with the form and the language....more
I don't understand why this book gets so much hate.
Yes it's experimental and not easy-going due to the run on sentences and writing style that resemblI don't understand why this book gets so much hate.
Yes it's experimental and not easy-going due to the run on sentences and writing style that resembles the thought process rather than traditional narration. I know this is not a thing for everyone - but that's just it, a question of preference, not something that justifies a 2.7 rating.
I think there was room for improvement but I'm gonna rate it 5 stars because this book deserves more praise than it gets. To me, it felt genuine, refreshing, interesting and thought-provoking. It didn't feel like a book focused on its characters, but rather their thoughts alone - stories to tell, concepts to reflect upon. I was prepared for a tiring read, but I got something immersive instead....more