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19th out of 140 books
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Tongue Party
by
Sarah Rose Etter (Goodreads Author),
Jess Larson
Tongue Party is a collection of short stories by Sarah Rose Etter.
It was selected by Deb Olin Unferth as the winner of the 2010 Caketrain Chapbook Competition and is currently available from Caketrain Press.
It was selected by Deb Olin Unferth as the winner of the 2010 Caketrain Chapbook Competition and is currently available from Caketrain Press.
Paperback, 90 pages
Published
June 1st 2011
by Caketrain Press
(first published May 1st 2011)
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April 2012
Lesson learned: Just because you can read an 80(ish)-page story collection in one sitting, one hour, one evening, doesn't mean you should. I'm going to have to think about (and reread) this one...
The "Koala Tide" isn't quite as adorable as it sounds. "Cake" should be enjoyed in moderation, while "Tongue Party" may not be enjoyable at all. "Men Under Glass" didn't get there by accident. "Chicken Father" is very sad, and "Husband Feeder" is running out of options. You may need to think a...more
Lesson learned: Just because you can read an 80(ish)-page story collection in one sitting, one hour, one evening, doesn't mean you should. I'm going to have to think about (and reread) this one...
The "Koala Tide" isn't quite as adorable as it sounds. "Cake" should be enjoyed in moderation, while "Tongue Party" may not be enjoyable at all. "Men Under Glass" didn't get there by accident. "Chicken Father" is very sad, and "Husband Feeder" is running out of options. You may need to think a...more
an amazing collection of insanely imaginative, terrifying, and funny tales. here's the blurb i wrote for it:
“There are stories that show you the way things are, and ones that show you the way things might be, and then there are stories that tear you apart and build different things from the pieces. You might be happy with some of them, but I assure you, you won’t like them all. Sarah Rose Etter isn’t a writer; she’s a witch, and this is a house and storm of spells.”
“There are stories that show you the way things are, and ones that show you the way things might be, and then there are stories that tear you apart and build different things from the pieces. You might be happy with some of them, but I assure you, you won’t like them all. Sarah Rose Etter isn’t a writer; she’s a witch, and this is a house and storm of spells.”
Sarah Rose Etter is in control of every word and she commands them do wicked/wonderful things to you and you think maybe you want it to stop because it hurts but you cannot stop reading and then it does stop and you wish it had not.
2 likes · like · see review
When I first received Sarah Rose Etter’s
Tongue Party
in the mail, I knew nothing about it other than it had won the 2010 Caketrain chapbook competition. In hindsight, I’m extremely glad I knew nothing about this collection, because watching each beautiful, terrifying, utterly bizarre story unfold is part of what makes reading this cohesive collection so enjoyable.
Reading each story is a delightful trip down the rabbit hole. Many of the female protagonists live in worlds ruled by the dizzyin...more
Reading each story is a delightful trip down the rabbit hole. Many of the female protagonists live in worlds ruled by the dizzyin...more
Sarah Rose Etter writes with such power, her voice so sharp and original, she scares me and thrills me at the same time and I enjoy it all. On first reading I felt myself attacking the words, eager and impatient to learn the characters' fate, and then I had to go back and read each story a second time to appreciate her prose, the choices she made, what was included and what she omitted, what she left readers to determine for ourselves.
I loved all eight stories, but particularly Koala Tide, Tongu...more
I loved all eight stories, but particularly Koala Tide, Tongu...more
You could call these stories disturbing, bizarre, and surreal. You could also call these stories imaginative or creative and fresh. One thing you cannot call these stories is dull. I read the book in a single sitting and will likely do so again in the near future.
There is a certain darkness lying in some of these stories, a darkness I don't see too often in the things I've been reading. It's as if any of the stories could turn on you, the reader, at any moment.
There is a certain darkness lying in some of these stories, a darkness I don't see too often in the things I've been reading. It's as if any of the stories could turn on you, the reader, at any moment.
I recently had the pleasure and privilege of hearing Sarah Rose Etter read the title story from this collection, and now that I've read the book that story feels like the pivot point of the set. "Tongue Party" forces us, through an incredible turnabout midway through, to wonder about the implications of telling a story straight versus telling it through filters of metaphor and fantasy and suggestion, and to ask which story is "real." I don't want to spoil that powerful turn by explaining it here...more
3 likes · like · see review
Tongue Party is quite a unique little things, a short book with short stories, but these stories are ridiculously good. The thought behind these stories, the creativity and the abruptness, impact like a hammer. Sometimes they hit your thumb, sometimes they hit your face. Either way, each story hurts.
I read this collection outloud to a speical person, and after I finished "Cake" and promised her that I would never shadow the actions of the man in the story, I knew that there was no limit to how...more
I read this collection outloud to a speical person, and after I finished "Cake" and promised her that I would never shadow the actions of the man in the story, I knew that there was no limit to how...more
1 like · like · see review
I need a root canal and I am having a flu shot hangover and I am (expletive) pregnant, which means I'm sneezing nonstop and I'm waddling from this weird uncomfortable ligament thing that shoots up the back of my thigh into my gluteus Maximus, the volume of which my condition has maximized, and I have a pressure and tension headache which makes any task involving my eyeballs a mite annoying. And yet... Tongue Party hit the (expletive) spot. Its short stories overflow with life, colorful and weird...more
I met Sarah Rose Etter at a reading in Chicago that she flew in for ALL THE WAY from Pennsylvania. I had a lot of fun drinking with her and started following her twitter. We communicate on twitter & facebook and I feel comfortable saying we are “friends.” However, one of the unfortunate side-effects of meeting a writer when you’re drinking (or: drunk), is that it is likely you will not remember the story the author read at all. In my drunken haze I recognized what she read as “good,” so when...more
A lot goes on in this little book. Sarah Rose is a slight of hand artist. She shows you absurdity: waves images of tides of koalas, fathers with chicken masks, parties of tongues, unsatiable husbands and men behind glass but then she brandishes a flourish---sparkles, explosions, lightning---and suddenly you are hit with the emotion she weaves deeply into each story. The best bait and switch ever!
I loved this book. I loved being moved on a gut-level through almost every story. She makes beautiful...more
I loved this book. I loved being moved on a gut-level through almost every story. She makes beautiful...more
1 like · like · see review
One of the freshest, most original and engaging books I've read this year. Sarah Rose Etter's imagination is a daring, disturbing place and in these stories she invites us into the world as she sees it. I don't ever want to leave and can't wait to see what she does next.
This book is quite the interesting little read. It's fast paced and difficult to put down. While one or two of the stories are a little predictable, most completely surprise you at the end. My only complaint is that there is not enough stories... I want more.
I enjoyed this intriguing and eclectic little book. "Cake" is disturbing and brilliant. I found "Chicken Father" equally mesmerizing. "Husband Feeder" is horrific in a truly skillful way and is deeply affecting. I look forward to future works from Sarah Rose Etter
My reading of this went way too fast. I wish there more husband feeders, chicken fathers, koala tides and tongue parties. Such a great collection. I feel like ripping my heart from my chest.
If what you are putting into your brain does not at some point make you feel very uncomfortable and disturbed, well then, the writer isn't doing his or her job. Sarah Rose is doing her job.
I've read this book twice already and loved it. The writing is succinct and relevant, the book itself is beautifully laid out and the stories are wonderful.
The finest psychosexual sensationalism I've had the pleasure to read in a long time. Extreme appetites of body and soul expressed as clear, quick, minimal, surreal stories. By a South Philly friend who really likes Strongbow and that sport with the ice and pucks and stuff.
Imagery and emotion that makes your soul shiver, your brain ask uncomfortable questions, and your heart swell with both hope and dread.
2 likes · like · see review
Quite enjoyed this short collection; will likely have some thoughts on it on Vol.1 in the days to come.
recommended by the ever-attentive Tuck, and endorsed by Deb Olin Unferth. Sign me up!
Little jabs of beauty.
More - http://bentanzer.blogspot.com/2012/04...
More - http://bentanzer.blogspot.com/2012/04...
A promising collection of stories from the wonderful Caketrain. Some moments it startles (the opening, Koala Tide and the title story, Tongue Party) and sometimes it doesn't quite work (Chicken Father).
White witch.
beautiful scary stories about hunger and how to satiate it. turns out you can't. stories from 'her' perspective about dads, husbands, lovers devouring or being devoured, but still you end up a bit peckish. where does that appetite come from? your senses receive and send the salty, savory, sweet, the sour, but something else sends the signal for MORE, or less, just to make it stop. what is it that won;t let you stop? these stories are about that something else.
Thankfully I couldn't find this one at the library, so now I own it. Imagination and meaning seem to crawl over each other on the pages. They mingle, mutter, and blur; then crystallize as hard pockets in soft places. Etter's storytelling is equally readable and genius.
After reading the last short story 'Husband Feeder' I turned back to 'Koala Tide' and read the book again. This is the first time I've read a book using a shampooing method.
After reading the last short story 'Husband Feeder' I turned back to 'Koala Tide' and read the book again. This is the first time I've read a book using a shampooing method.
I read this book really quickly because I didn't realize it would end so soon and then there wouldn't be any more great/creepy/strange but truth-y stories for me to read and I would be sad. LUCKILY, there are links to more stories by the wonderful Sarah Rose Etter on her website to hold me over until she puts out another great collection.
There is a fragile tangibility to this collection and I simply don't have the skill to express quite how profound that makes it.
Review here.
Strange that Goodreads is randomly recommending to me a book written by a fellow Rosemont alum. Small world or creepy Google-esque internet tracking?
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sarah rose etter's chapbook, Tongue Party, was published by Caketrain Press in May 2011 and is headed into a second printing. you can pre-order a print copy here.
Tongue Party is also available as an e-book.
sarah rose etter's work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Black Warrior Review, Salt Hill Journal, Pear Noir! The Painted Bride Quarterly, elimae, The Collagist and more. her stories have b...more
More about Sarah Rose Etter...
Tongue Party is also available as an e-book.
sarah rose etter's work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Black Warrior Review, Salt Hill Journal, Pear Noir! The Painted Bride Quarterly, elimae, The Collagist and more. her stories have b...more
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Apr 07, 2012 09:00am
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