Review:A lot of veiled homoerotic imagery, much of which today would be considered borderline pedophilia. Bogged down by repetitive illusions to the Greek ideals of beauty. Not on narrative par with Buddenbrooks or The Magic Mountain. Best suited for those who wish to say they've read all of Thomas Mann's work. Read more

Review:Just finished the book. I am familiar with many, but not all, of the authors and thoroughly enjoyed read all the stories. This was a great idea and I hope it continues. Each story was just the right length to read at night shortly before bedtime. I used a Kindle HD. Looking forward to the next endeavor. Read more

Review:Amazing collection; probably the best I've read this year. I've read other of Jess Walter's work--Citizen Vince--and also a story from this collection, Anything Helps, which was featured in Best American 2012. Walter's a prodigious talent, and I'm not trying to sound like a book critic here ('cause I'm not). Most of these stories are heartbreaking; a few are very funny. They're all gorgeous. Read more

Review:I am only familiar with shirley Jackson's from elementary school the two stories I listed . I 're-read theses stories and got a new prospective. She is definitely a very interesting writer.I am enjoying her writing Read more

Review:The stories have the potential to be funny. And they would be if the author took a moment to actually be funny.

But since she is bent on showing how angry she is, in the end they end up being plain stories with a moral (just like the fairy tales she criticizes, only upside down: not all dark tall strangers are bad, etc etc). In the end the exercise is sterile.

Nothing to do with Salinger,of course, as one reviewer said. And if you feel like having a laugh at unfortunate children, b... Read more

Review:Kelly Link's stories are magical in that folklore way, that way that says maybe if you just tilt your head and squint, you'll find out the world isn't as boring as you thought. Frightening and wonderful and sometimes wise, they are not as distant and arch as most genre writing and not as wink-wink-aren't-I-so-clever as a lot of more recent writing. They are unexpected, and spend as much time on the ways we hurt ourselves and the complications of relationships (friendship and otherwise) as they d... Read more

Review:The first two stories of this book were really interesting to read... but both (along with all the following stories) just sort of abruptly end. I know these are short stories, but it felt like the author just didn't know what the point of her stories were or how to end them, so she just stopped writing. The writing itself has some solid passages, and it does transport you. But then it ends and you're left wondering what the point of it was. Again the first two stories are pretty cool and yo... Read more

Review:I really like reading the Amazon reviews before I purchase a book so I don't waste my money, but I'm a little let down this time. There were so many good reviews for this book that I figured it must be really great.
Unfortunately, for me, it has not been.
I've read the first 4 or 5 stories and am not really impressed. The stories are kind of dark, and gruesome(which I normally like), but they don't have much to them. Maybe some people will like them for their face value ugliness, but I pre... Read more

Review:Loved that ,the guys are on the job! However, the girls almost always get the guys involved but they didn't want to ask the girls to help. I think they should have. I want to read more stories about the guys. Read more

Review:The stories are all good, as most Dresden Files are, though I’d read several of them before. I especially liked the ones told from other character’s points of view. Mouse’s is the last & the best. Read more