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dsnake1's reviews
572 reviews
El Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges
3.0
This was alright. I actually really like the idea behind it, and Borges' mastery of the language was wonderful, especially with Norman Thomas Di Giovanni's translation being up to par. I'm not positive I ended up liking the short story in its entirety, though. I could have, I think, and I might a few years down the road if I stumble on this again, but as for now, it's just okay.
On that note, I'd recommend reading this if you're into magical realism at all. It's short, roughly fifty-two-hundred words, and some of the sentences would be a joy to read, even unattached to any story.
On that note, I'd recommend reading this if you're into magical realism at all. It's short, roughly fifty-two-hundred words, and some of the sentences would be a joy to read, even unattached to any story.
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu
5.0
Wow!
I can totally understand why this won the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award. It's a wonderful little story (about five thousand words) that everyone should read.
The story is simple but oh-so-moving. It's about a boy, his mother, fitting in, and what that can cost with a dash of magical realism thrown in.
I don't want to say much more about it due to how short the story is, but it's one of my favorites. This is definitely moving to the 'short stories to reread' folder, and it's moved Liu's book much farther up my TBR than it was before.
I can totally understand why this won the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award. It's a wonderful little story (about five thousand words) that everyone should read.
The story is simple but oh-so-moving. It's about a boy, his mother, fitting in, and what that can cost with a dash of magical realism thrown in.
I don't want to say much more about it due to how short the story is, but it's one of my favorites. This is definitely moving to the 'short stories to reread' folder, and it's moved Liu's book much farther up my TBR than it was before.
For He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll
3.0
I feel like I might have missed the boat on this one. Lots of people seem to love it. It's nominated for a Nebula. It's honestly a fine story.
It's just that, to me, it's not all that special. I feel like I must have missed something; as it is, it's a solid story from a cat's point of view, a twist on a traditional out-tricking the devil story, but I guess I expected something more. That something more is what I'm assuming I missed. If there's nothing more than a straightforward story from a cat's perspective, well, then I don't get all the praise.
Granted, it seems to be recommended for cat lovers over and over, and I'm not one of those, but again, a straightforward novelette about cats fighting the devil just doesn't seem worthy of all the praise it's getting.
I should note, I enjoyed the story. It's fine. It's solid. It's a nice tribute to Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart. It's worth reading, especially at just under eight thousand words. I just don't see it as the masterpiece some of the praise makes it out to be.
It's just that, to me, it's not all that special. I feel like I must have missed something; as it is, it's a solid story from a cat's point of view, a twist on a traditional out-tricking the devil story, but I guess I expected something more. That something more is what I'm assuming I missed. If there's nothing more than a straightforward story from a cat's perspective, well, then I don't get all the praise.
Granted, it seems to be recommended for cat lovers over and over, and I'm not one of those, but again, a straightforward novelette about cats fighting the devil just doesn't seem worthy of all the praise it's getting.
I should note, I enjoyed the story. It's fine. It's solid. It's a nice tribute to Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart. It's worth reading, especially at just under eight thousand words. I just don't see it as the masterpiece some of the praise makes it out to be.
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
4.0
This is a very strange book. In itself, it's just fine. It's nothing revolutionary, but it's not bad. It's not spectacular, sure, but it's not bad. Certainly entertaining.
I think so many of the mixed feelings come from unmet expectations, though.
The Testaments is a direct sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, set sometime after the novel. It's fairly clearly defined in the book, but I'll leave it at that. Anyway, The Testaments is mostly a dystopian novel, but it feels much more YA-esque than the THT. THT, in contrast, is a literary classic filled with claustrophobic, beautiful prose.
What it really comes down to is the two books in the series are written in vastly, vastly different styles, if not subtly crossing a genre border. Some will be fine with that; others won't.
Ultimately, I enjoyed it for what it is, but reading it back to back with The Handmaid's Tale was jarring at best.
3.5/5
I think so many of the mixed feelings come from unmet expectations, though.
The Testaments is a direct sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, set sometime after the novel. It's fairly clearly defined in the book, but I'll leave it at that. Anyway, The Testaments is mostly a dystopian novel, but it feels much more YA-esque than the THT. THT, in contrast, is a literary classic filled with claustrophobic, beautiful prose.
What it really comes down to is the two books in the series are written in vastly, vastly different styles, if not subtly crossing a genre border. Some will be fine with that; others won't.
Ultimately, I enjoyed it for what it is, but reading it back to back with The Handmaid's Tale was jarring at best.
3.5/5