Friday Black

Ok. So I figure most short story collections are vaguely hit-or-miss, but I also read, like, half of this in February and the other half in October and I defenitely stopped reading in the middle of one of the stories which tittle and first half I did not recollect but didn't start over soooo In general, I defenitely enjoyed to stories with scifi-esque elements more Zimmer Land, Friday Black, Light Spitter, and Through the Flash, just because I was more drawn to those stories conceptually. I think the story that will stick with me the longest is the first story, The Finkelstein 5, for just being such a mirror to the present moment. I always enjoy stories the examine the miseries of retail work, because they make me (as a retail worker) feel seen: Friday Black (again), How to Sell a Jacket as Told by Iceking, In Retail, and The Lion and the Spider. I don't know, but I think The Lion and the Spider may be the story with the second most staying power, at least for me? Idk how to review short story collections. I don't really recall any of the other stories from the first half that I read in February... I'm looking at the titles and ehh???? This review is more for me anyway, so who cares, but I will do better next short story collection I read

Well written traums porn for the yt gaze

A couple of the stories are amazing, but most of them are too on the nose for my taste.

Favorites:
- "The Finkelstein 5"
- "The Era"
- "Zimmer Land"
- "In Retail"

I finished this book and immediately looked for reviews from people who are smarter than me to help me fully understand what’s going on in these stories. Spoiler alert: there’s a lot.

I really wanted to like this one, but I found much of the prose just plain prosaic, the stories generally meh, and the effort on the whole disappointing. The book starts with just oddly off-key language choices that felt sloppy rather than intentional, and several of the stories feel like Saunders (who seems to be affiliated with the author) sort of halfway warmed over. Much of the subject matter here is important, but the author's treatment of it just didn't do the matter justice. I may have just missed something here, as the book seems to be beloved here on Goodreads and by respected authors alike.

2.5 stars First of all, I think I just don't like short story collections. I don't know why, but it's often such a mixed bag of good and bad stories, and I don't want to suffer through stories that I don't enjoy, so I'm probably not gonna read more of them, at least not soon. Still, this collection of short stories presents some interesting ideas, and comments mostly on race/racism in the US. The stories were often tough and even gory, fitting with the themes. I did have a real problem with some of them though. One story follows a young man whose girlfriend had an abortion recently. The fetuses show up - they are described explicitly - and ask for an explanation why his girlfriend got an abortion. The whole story felt very anti-abortion and it just didn't sit right with me. Then, the stories on consumerism felt very on the nose, describing humans kinda like zombies, who MUST buy things to live. The commentary this posed felt to me as a cheap way to say something clever about the topic. Again, I did like some other stories, such as "The Finkelstein 5" and "Zimmer Land," but not enough to warrant a higher rating.

I've been following Roxane Gay on Goodreads now for quite awhile and I'm never disappointed by any of her own books or books she recommends. I loved the Sci-Fi and fantasy aspects of the short stories and all of them are deeply thought-provoking. Please pick this up, even if it might be out of your usual comfort zone. You won't regret it! Thank you Quercus and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.