imaginary_space's Reviews (246)

Unfortunately, I found this collection to be very inconsistent. It has great stories and stories I didn't like, which came down to length and pacing. Some were just too long and I think the book could have profited from a little more editing. Most of the stories would have had more impact if they were shorter, I think.

The Husband Stitch
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it. The description of everyday activities with this constant tension made it memorable.

Inventory
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Seeing a catastrophie unfold from a purely introspective perspective was really new and interesting for me.

Mothers
⭐⭐ - Unfortunately, too long for me and motherhood isn't really my topic.

Especially Heinous / Season 5 / Season 8
⭐ - I think this was 2 or 3 separate stories, but they all go together. Unfortunately I skipped them, they were too long, too detailed and too incoherent for me to listen to.

Real Women Have Bodies
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked this one, maybe a tad too long.

8 Bites
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Loved it! Very unsettling, very relevant, very creepy.

The Resident
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the atmosphere of the story.

Difficult at Parties
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Very interesting and impactful concept.

I just need a better audio version of this.

Tell me you are a horror author from the US without telling me you're a horror author from the US: 

This was super fun. I enjoyed: 

It didn't quite get to me emotionally, though.

- I feel you, honey.

This is a great book and I recommend it if you're searching for something outside of the repetitive mainstream.

Things I enjoyed most: The slow pacing, the suspense, the weirdness, that it's about a teenager but not a YA story (at least I wouldn't call it one), the unique world building, the prose, the philosophical concepts, the fantastical intertwined with mundane problems and the fact that we didn't get any real explanations (I hate when books with magical mysteries do that).

And yet, something makes me not rate this 5 stars. I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe it was a little too long-winded towards the end. Maybe the prose was overdone in some instances in the English translation - I'll have to read a German translation to find out.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the journey immensely.

short, scary and to the point.

This is a fast, entertaining read. Very unique and interesting worldbuilding, no red flags in the romance story and two rival love interests who actually manage to have a conversation and work together like grown-ups when the situation demands it. Yes, the bar is that low.
I wasn't super engaged emotionally, but I was entertained, and I just love Calpurnia.

Man findet immer etwas bei Kästner, insgesamt war diese Sammlung für mich jedoch an vielen Stellen zu oberflächlich, um mich wirklich mitzunehmen.

Very informative and interesting to read, but gets too US-centric in the last chapter.

A nice collection of sometimes funny, sometimes unapologetically edgy, sometimes experimental poetry. There are some surprisingly serious poems that are really good.