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ninetalevixen 's review for:
The Refugees
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
>> Buddy read with Emily, Vilina, Mel & David!
"Black-Eyed Women"
★★★★☆
Quietly profound; the slice-of-life structure thoughtfully depicts a turning point, with meta themes of storytelling and writing, a play on words (ghostwriting), lots to unpack here.
"The Other Man"
★★★☆☆
Demonstrates the power and complexities of human connection, discovery/ exploration of sexuality and self. Easy to focus on the superficial story, in its universality-through-specificity, and thus miss any deeper significance.
"War Years"
★★★☆☆
Compelling narrative voice, though there's a lot of disparate elements and themes and motifs that for me didn't quite come together. Also, the fixation on female nipples is super uncomfy.
"The Transplant"
★★★☆☆
An interesting take on the organ-donor trope, but the themes of race and heritage lose some nuance when they're made so explicit, and the overall narrative arc is not very strong.
"I'd Love You to Want Me"
★★★★☆
Twisty, with tons left unspoken (unwritten): food for speculation. A fascinating study of a particular relationship.
"The Americans"
★★★★☆
The narrator borders on insufferable, but it's a well-written perspective that gives good insight into the other characters and their beliefs.
"Someone Else Besides You"
★★★☆☆
Family relationships are certainly tricky, particularly when there's a cross-cultural element. Not a fan of the sexist gender roles, but I respect their cultural and narrative significance.
"Fatherland"
★★★★☆
Despite the title, for me the major appeal is the two sisters who share a name and a father and little else. An interesting look at the interplay between choice and circumstance, and of course familial relationships too.
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[2019 original review]
To this day, I have yet to find a collection of short stories as engaging and compelling as [b:The Things They Carried|133518|The Things They Carried|Tim O'Brien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424663847l/133518._SY75_.jpg|1235619] — but this comes pretty close, and is fascinating in its own right besides. Normally I'd write up a rating and sort of reaction blurb for each short story, but in this case I think their themes are interwoven strongly enough that it would be hard to make them distinct. Suffice it to say that the plots aren't all memorable and the characters aren't all likable — however, the composition of the stories made me stop and think.
"Black-Eyed Women"
★★★★☆
Quietly profound; the slice-of-life structure thoughtfully depicts a turning point, with meta themes of storytelling and writing, a play on words (ghostwriting), lots to unpack here.
"The Other Man"
★★★☆☆
Demonstrates the power and complexities of human connection, discovery/ exploration of sexuality and self. Easy to focus on the superficial story, in its universality-through-specificity, and thus miss any deeper significance.
"War Years"
★★★☆☆
Compelling narrative voice, though there's a lot of disparate elements and themes and motifs that for me didn't quite come together. Also, the fixation on female nipples is super uncomfy.
"The Transplant"
★★★☆☆
An interesting take on the organ-donor trope, but the themes of race and heritage lose some nuance when they're made so explicit, and the overall narrative arc is not very strong.
"I'd Love You to Want Me"
★★★★☆
Twisty, with tons left unspoken (unwritten): food for speculation. A fascinating study of a particular relationship.
"The Americans"
★★★★☆
The narrator borders on insufferable, but it's a well-written perspective that gives good insight into the other characters and their beliefs.
"Someone Else Besides You"
★★★☆☆
Family relationships are certainly tricky, particularly when there's a cross-cultural element. Not a fan of the sexist gender roles, but I respect their cultural and narrative significance.
"Fatherland"
★★★★☆
Despite the title, for me the major appeal is the two sisters who share a name and a father and little else. An interesting look at the interplay between choice and circumstance, and of course familial relationships too.
-----------
[2019 original review]
Spoiler
3.5 stars.I am a bad refugee because I insist on seeing the historical reasons that create refugees and the historical reasons for denying refugee status to certain populations.
To this day, I have yet to find a collection of short stories as engaging and compelling as [b:The Things They Carried|133518|The Things They Carried|Tim O'Brien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424663847l/133518._SY75_.jpg|1235619] — but this comes pretty close, and is fascinating in its own right besides. Normally I'd write up a rating and sort of reaction blurb for each short story, but in this case I think their themes are interwoven strongly enough that it would be hard to make them distinct. Suffice it to say that the plots aren't all memorable and the characters aren't all likable — however, the composition of the stories made me stop and think.