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129th out of 394 books
—
296 voters
We So Seldom Look on Love: Stories
Now in paperback, this masterfully crafted story collection by the author of the internationally best-selling novel Mister Sandman is a haunting book that is certain to both disturb and entertain. With a particular focus on obsession and the abnormal, We So Seldom Look On Love explores life at its quirky extremes, pushing past limits of convention into lives that are fanta...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
June 1st 1998
by Zoland Books
(first published 1992)
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We So Seldom Look On Love, Barbara Gowdy's first published book, is a compilation of short stories. Like her novels, we see her championing the misfits and outcasts and explore their worlds in an honest and sympathetic fashion. Regardless of how outlandish her protags appear to be (...a woman exhibitionist, a two-headed man, a girl with her dead Siamese twin's trunk growing from her hip, a woman who literally embraces death...), her stories come off as compassionate and true.
This book is one th...more
This book is one th...more
Mar 31, 2012
Pooker
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those who usually eschew short stories
Shelves:
canada,
short-stories
I first read this book many, many moons ago. It is the book that I've always pointed to when justifying my opinion that Barbara Gowdy "always" writes about unusual, weird characters. I've read many of Gowdy's books since, including Mister Sandman, The White Bone and Helpless. All of those have served to confirm my original opinion. So you'd think I would have been more than prepared for a second foray into Gowdy's macabre territory in this book of stories.
Wrong. Even on a second reading, I was t...more
Wrong. Even on a second reading, I was t...more
Went around the house collecting brief and odd or somewhat strange stories to review and shelve here and was pleased to rediscover this forgotten gem.
As noted: "The characters in these eight masterfully crafted stories are from life's extremes -- a female necrophile, a lonely exhibitionist, a two-headed man, Siamese twins, a young girl with a severely enlarged head, a transsexual -- but with her certain hand Barbara Gowdy transforms the extraordinary into the familiar."
Empathy, humor, humanism...more
Incredibly disturbing, well written, and at times quite beautiful. This book deals with abhorrent topics such as necrophilia in a manner that elicits compassion for the characters and the world at large which deals with such characters. Caution must be taken, especially if you're very imaginative, as this book could deeply scar you.
Why four stars, not five? Because although it was a good piece of work, great even, it was not very palatable. I didn't enjoy reading it, although I enjoyed Gowdy's s...more
Why four stars, not five? Because although it was a good piece of work, great even, it was not very palatable. I didn't enjoy reading it, although I enjoyed Gowdy's s...more
Jan 23, 2008
Lia
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Lia by:
Campbell family
Shelves:
short-stories,
contemporary
Gorgeous, disturbing short stories by a writer I had never heard of. One or two missed the mark, and a few have weak endings, but in general a very impressive collection. I'm partial to short fiction anyway, but these were just stunning: Wildly imaginative, richly characterised, and so thoroughly engaging I avoided anything that might disturb me mid-story, to the point of being somewhat rude to the people around me. Many of Gowdy's characters would be considered oddities -- the eccentric extras...more
Possibly one of the most disturbing books I've ever read...certainly some of the imagery will be with me forever. The last story, "Flesh of My Flesh", has to be separately rated from the book, because I found it offensive, and, at the same time, almost unbearably sad. I wept and raged simultaneously. It must be my week for reading books that are beautifully written but go places I am uncomfortable with. First Barry Hannah's Ray and now this...
May 09, 2012
Lawrie
added it
This was a book I noticed was selected by one of our seniors as the book she wanted her honorary bookplate in. Because I know her and think she's terrific, I thought I'd try this book. Ok, I tried! No can do. Collection of short stories. Read some of the stories, all bizarre in their own way (some sort of gothic-y). I hung in until last night, when I started a story set in a male stripjoint; jumped to next story and the main character talks about lying on the cadavers she is working on. Not my...more
TV Ontario carried a literary show called Imprint, and it was here that I first heard of Barbara Gowdy. But it was as an interviewer and it wasn't until a couple of years later that I learned she was also a writer, and quickly becoming one of this country's best. So finally
I decided to knock this one off my reading list.
It's a collection of eight stories featuring outcasts, freaks and depraved souls who are brought into a sensitive light by fine writing.
The stories are mostly inconsequential, i...more
I decided to knock this one off my reading list.
It's a collection of eight stories featuring outcasts, freaks and depraved souls who are brought into a sensitive light by fine writing.
The stories are mostly inconsequential, i...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this one.Gowdy has a beautiful writing style. Not all these stories are about love but they all display unusual human relationships with some "unusual" people. There's a story about a woman learning that her husband was actually born a woman, a story about a man with two heads who tries to murder his other head,another about a female exhibitionist, and another about a girl who has toddler-sized legs on her torso (her Siamese twin). I thoroughly enjoyed reading these short st...more
2 likes · like · see review
Gowdy does a wonderful job of portraying outsiders and freaks as real human beings. Great, exceptional, awe-inspiring characters, thrilling and clever story-lines and an appropriate, down-to-earth take on taboos and generally avoided subjects.
Brilliant! Barbara Gowdy takes extreme characters - a two- headed man, Siamese twins, & a female necrophile- and makes them comfortably familiar. I don't know which of the eight stories in this collection is my favorite because they are all wonderful !
Barbara Gowdy does such a good job writing beautifully about dark topics. I love that she is not afraid to take stuff to a weird place. One of my favorite authors.
If you like the strange, you'll love Barbara Gowdy. This is a brilliant collection you will want to read more than once.
Oct 19, 2011
Lindsay Nichols
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories,
canadians
One of my favourite story collections! I always get shivers reading the stories in this book, and they hold up over countless re-readings.
Mixed bag of short stories - odd. Some I would have given a five to and others I found myself drifting.
Most riveting collection of short stories I have come across. Well worth a re-read.
A stunning collection full of intriguing stories and quirky characters. A must-read.
Thought-provoking, wonderfully strange, beautifully written.
Apr 07, 2011
Noorin Hasan
added it
Literally disturbing but nevertheless well written.
It's goodish, but it is really, really intense.
there are some really crazy, grotesque stories in here and thought provoking satires on what "love" is to different people. many of the stories were quite alluring. the last one was my favorite, flesh of my flesh- so sad, condemning and then beautiful and accepting.
Very quirky and a little disturbing.
A collection of short stories by Barbara Gowdy who investigates in these stories, life at its extremes, pushing past limits of convention into lives that are fantastic and heartbreakingly real.
There are fantastic stories in here like the beautiful necrophiliac or the two headed man personifying good and evil, but my favorite story was the one about the foster children. Gowdy told the story in a beautiful and loving way that made it far more arresting then other pieces I've read like it in which the authors try to be shocking.
I sought this book out after seeing the movie "Kissed," based on one of the short stories in this collections. It's a fantastic book that has lingered with me and that I think about frequently. I should re-read it. I've been very disappointed with her novels, but Gowdy's short stories are tight, revealing, wonderful.
What a strange collection of characters fill this book of short stories.
From a two-headed man, to a four-legged girl, a necrophiliac, and an
exhibitionist. In places, this book headed into some nearly pornographic
territory that I found rather unnecessary and manipulative. Not really my
cup of tea.
From a two-headed man, to a four-legged girl, a necrophiliac, and an
exhibitionist. In places, this book headed into some nearly pornographic
territory that I found rather unnecessary and manipulative. Not really my
cup of tea.
Some of the short stories in this book were pretty bizarre, but I also found most of them moving in one way or another. Gowdy has a knack for writing from the perspective of characters at the margins of society and for depicting them in a compassionate and complex way.
This book is great, as the first story is about a girl born with a sycophantic conjoined twin--basically, she has two child-sized legs growing out of her stomach. Loved it. The rest of the stories, eh, not so much...but that one was really good...
I love short story collections.
This gathering had some really great gems in it, and the ideas were really original and disturbing.
It was pretty good.
This gathering had some really great gems in it, and the ideas were really original and disturbing.
It was pretty good.
This is one of my all-time favourite short story collections. Bitter and twisted? Maybe. For me it ranks right up there with early Ian McEwan though. Now where is my copy??? I remember the original paperback cover being red and blue....
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Barbara Gowdy is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Born in Windsor, Ontario, she is the long-time partner of poet Christopher Dewdney and resides in Toronto.
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May 09, 2012 06:29am