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Liked It “An excellent short story collection. Strong writing, dramatic endings. Each story is about ordinary people dealing with their lives -- jobs, spouses, boyfriends, neighbors -- and the reader is privy to the characters' inner monologues. The situations feel familiar and there are great snippets...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Depressing stories with unremarkable characters. Can't believe David Sedaris wrote a blurb for this. I truly couldn't find one redeeming aspect.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“This collection of stories is a slightly difficult read and gets a bit boring at times. It was hard for me to read it right through so sometimes I had to take breaks. It was a bit hard for me to relate to the stories and though many of them were funny and interesting I feel like the book was intended for an adult audience rather than teens. I recommend this book to adults who enjoy short stories. One thing that I did like is the fact that because the book consisted of a series of short stories I could put the book down after a story without feeling as if I was missing something. I did find it interesting to see how the characters evolved throughout the stories they were in. But I think that my classmates would find the book boring and would not be interested in reading about people with such bare lives as Penrose from “Soldiers of Spiritos” who was an English professor was eagerly waiting to retire. Penrose has lost all hope in setting any investment in his life. He is inspired when a girl called Sarah begins to cry in class while they are examining Eugene O’Neill’s play Long Day’s Journey into Night in class. He decides to have a chat with her in his office and learns that Sarah’s reaction to literature sometimes gets in the way of her emotional control. “Soldiers of Spiritos” was my favourite story because it showed that teachers can inspire students but students often inspire teachers as well. I find that this is entirely true and I thought that it was fairly accurately portrayed in “Soldiers of Spiritos”. I found the story quite touching as well and I think that it made a strong point.”
Frankie B wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“An excellent short story collection. Strong writing, dramatic endings. Each story is about ordinary people dealing with their lives -- jobs, spouses, boyfriends, neighbors -- and the reader is privy to the characters' inner monologues. The situations feel familiar and there are great snippets of humor. This book would appeal to any reader looking for domestic fiction, stories about real people, but who want something substantial -- it's literate without being pretentious, moving, and honest. Jean Thompson has been likened to the American Alice Munro and the comparison is apt. Fans of Anne Tyler, Richard Russo, Anita Shreve, Jhumpa Lahiri, etc. also take note!
Karen wrote this review Friday, October 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Almost all stories were standouts for me but I especially liked these:
"Little Brown Bird" is about a nosy old woman who befriends the girl next door -- a child from a dysfunctional, lower class family. "Smash" is a frighteningly real tale about a car accident. "Escape" was a wonderful story told from the perspective of a man affected by a stroke and his antagonistic relationship with his wife.”
“I've only finished the first story, but I'm loving it so far! Excellent writing and character development”
Monica R wrote this review Wednesday, September 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Depressing stories with unremarkable characters. Can't believe David Sedaris wrote a blurb for this. I truly couldn't find one redeeming aspect.”
MaryEllen wrote this review Monday, July 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I don’t read many short stories, but I thought this collection was really good. I think what is most compelling about it is that each story was something that could happen to you, or to someone you know. There’s nothing extraordinary here, just people dealing with their lives. Funnily enough, the one story I didn’t enjoy was the one that shared the collection title "Do Not Deny Me", which had a psychic bent to it. She even brings things full circle a bit, with the final story showing a different side of a character in one of the first ones. Even if you’re not a short story reader, there’s a lot to like here.”
miyurose wrote this review Thursday, July 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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