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All the Names They Used for God: Stories
A haunting, diverse debut story collection that explores the isolation we experience in the face of the mysterious, often dangerous forces that shape our lives
Anjali Sachdeva's debut collection spans centuries, continents, and a diverse set of characters but is united by each character's epic struggle with fate: A workman in Andrew Carnegie's steel mills is irrevocably changed by the brutal power of the furnaces; a fisherman sets sail into overfished waters and finds a secret obsession from which he can't return; an online date ends with a frightening, inexplicable disappearance. Her story "Pleiades" was called "a masterpiece" by Dave Eggers. Sachdeva has a talent for creating moving and poignant scenes, following her highly imaginative plots to their logical ends, and depicting how one small miracle can affect everyone in its wake.
The world by night --
Glass-lung --
Logging lake --
Killer of kings --
All the names for God --
Robert Greenman and the mermaid --
Anything you might want --
Manus --
Pleiades
Anjali Sachdeva's debut collection spans centuries, continents, and a diverse set of characters but is united by each character's epic struggle with fate: A workman in Andrew Carnegie's steel mills is irrevocably changed by the brutal power of the furnaces; a fisherman sets sail into overfished waters and finds a secret obsession from which he can't return; an online date ends with a frightening, inexplicable disappearance. Her story "Pleiades" was called "a masterpiece" by Dave Eggers. Sachdeva has a talent for creating moving and poignant scenes, following her highly imaginative plots to their logical ends, and depicting how one small miracle can affect everyone in its wake.
The world by night --
Glass-lung --
Logging lake --
Killer of kings --
All the names for God --
Robert Greenman and the mermaid --
Anything you might want --
Manus --
Pleiades
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,011 reviews
March 11, 2018
What an outstanding short story collection. I knew nothing about this book going in and was thrilled by each story. There is so much range here, and there is a nice fabulist edge to nearly all the stories. The writer wields so much confidence and control in her prose and my goodness, what imagination, what passion there is in this work. From one story to the next I felt like the writer knows everything about everything. One of the best collections I’ve ever read. Every single story is a stand out.
March 21, 2018
Over the past few months, I've picked up a number of short story collections and this one happens to be one of the least memorable.
There are only nine stories in All the Names They Used for God but several made me think "huh?" and not a single one really stood out to me. I can almost always pick out at least one or two gems in a collection but all left me fairly cold here.
It's somewhat odd that these stories were lumped together into a collection at all. There's nothing really tying them together - no overarching theme or link that unites them. Instead, they are a series of strange, dreamy snapshots of completely different times and places.
One story follows a man post-breakup, as he goes on a wilderness retreat date with someone new; another, "Glass Lung", follows a Danish man after he inhales glass shards during a steel mill incident and, rendered disabled and hardly able to speak, later finds himself uncovering a hidden tomb in Egypt.
To say the stories are random would be an understatement. I also really understand the use of "dreamlike" and "dreamy" to describe this collection. In fact, they do sort of all feel like dream sequences and, like when someone else feels the need to share their weird dreams with you, they didn’t feel real or tense or emotional. I did not feel drawn into any of the worlds or compelled to care about any of the characters.
Some of the concepts were interesting, but a story must be more than its concept to impress me. If you're looking for hard-hitting, emotional short stories, try What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky instead.
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There are only nine stories in All the Names They Used for God but several made me think "huh?" and not a single one really stood out to me. I can almost always pick out at least one or two gems in a collection but all left me fairly cold here.
It's somewhat odd that these stories were lumped together into a collection at all. There's nothing really tying them together - no overarching theme or link that unites them. Instead, they are a series of strange, dreamy snapshots of completely different times and places.
One story follows a man post-breakup, as he goes on a wilderness retreat date with someone new; another, "Glass Lung", follows a Danish man after he inhales glass shards during a steel mill incident and, rendered disabled and hardly able to speak, later finds himself uncovering a hidden tomb in Egypt.
To say the stories are random would be an understatement. I also really understand the use of "dreamlike" and "dreamy" to describe this collection. In fact, they do sort of all feel like dream sequences and, like when someone else feels the need to share their weird dreams with you, they didn’t feel real or tense or emotional. I did not feel drawn into any of the worlds or compelled to care about any of the characters.
Some of the concepts were interesting, but a story must be more than its concept to impress me. If you're looking for hard-hitting, emotional short stories, try What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky instead.
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February 26, 2018
3.5 When I am reading s book of short stories, I usually jot down a few details about each story, as a memory aid. I do not, however, look at these notes unless I absolutely have to, rather trying to see how much I remember just from the story titles. A good way for me to gauge how memorable and note Worthy is each story. After finishing this well written collection I am happy to say I remembered quite a few.
They run the gamut from the past to the future, each one full of characters trying to escape their fate. Nature, science, religion all themes represented. Loved the first story, The world by Night, the character Sadie and her strange fascination with a cave. Not sure I fully understood the end, but loved getting there, trying on my own interpretation. Enjoyed Robert Greenman and the mermaid, a mermaid story with a twist. The title story is also memorable, two young girls kidnapped by soldiers who discover they have a secret power that serves them years later. My very favorite though was the last one, Pleiades, seven sisters who were born threw scientific experimentation, and the tragedy that ensues.
All in all, a marvelous and interesting collection of shorts.
ARC from Edelweiss.
They run the gamut from the past to the future, each one full of characters trying to escape their fate. Nature, science, religion all themes represented. Loved the first story, The world by Night, the character Sadie and her strange fascination with a cave. Not sure I fully understood the end, but loved getting there, trying on my own interpretation. Enjoyed Robert Greenman and the mermaid, a mermaid story with a twist. The title story is also memorable, two young girls kidnapped by soldiers who discover they have a secret power that serves them years later. My very favorite though was the last one, Pleiades, seven sisters who were born threw scientific experimentation, and the tragedy that ensues.
All in all, a marvelous and interesting collection of shorts.
ARC from Edelweiss.
January 15, 2018
Anjali Sachdeva has written a diverse, compelling and strong debut collection of stories. I can't think of any other collection I've read that is this eclectic—there are stories about genetically perfected septuplets, a man with glass lungs, John Milton writing his epic poem, weird blobby aliens who take over earth and witchy women who put men under their spells. It's bizarre and fun and emotional and quite wonderful. I think this would be a great collection for people who don't read short stories that often because there's bound to be one you'll like. And if you like one, you will probably like them all since her writing consistently delivers.
I received a copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley, but as always all thoughts & opinions are my own.
I received a copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley, but as always all thoughts & opinions are my own.
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May 3, 2024This has to be the toughest book to review from my reads of 2021. I'm at a loss about how to rate it.
Ever read an anthology where you know something is missing and yet you can't stop reading it? That's what happened to me with this book. I simply couldn't stop myself from going ahead. The writing is impeccable. The build-up of every story is outstanding. The pacing is fabulous. The language, flawless.
Where the book failed miserably was in the endings of each tale. Many stories left me feeling befuddled at the way they abruptly came to a close. You can't even say that the endings were open-ended. Even in open-ended works, there are some clues that make you predict the possible paths the story could continue on. It turns into a challenge to your mind and is fun to figure out. But in many of these stories, the ending just jarred. It was sudden, without warning, and felt incomplete.
For a debut work, I think this is a fabulous collection. The author definitely knows how to write. Now she just needs to make sure that she ties up the ending in a better way, either by giving closure to the reader or by stopping the story at a more appropriate point. I'm definitely going to read more of her works in future. She has talent, no doubt in that.
The stories are from various genres such as sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, etc. There's nothing to bind the stories in a common thread. So it's quite a motley collection with an underlying darkness.
Here's my story-wise rating where 😍 indicates my level of enjoyment with the plot and 😕 indicates my level of disappointment with the ending. as you can see, my feelings are all over the place, so I really don't know how to rate the book. All I know is that I enjoyed every single story until just before its last para.
1. The World at Night :
Story: 😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕
2. Glass Lung:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕
3. Logging Lake:
Story: 😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕
4. Killer of Kings:
Story: 😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕😕😕
5. All the Names for God:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😍😍
6. Robert Greenman and the Mermaid:
Story: 😍😍😍
Ending: 😕
7. Anything You Might Want:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😍
8. Manus:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕
9. Pleiades
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕
***********************
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Ever read an anthology where you know something is missing and yet you can't stop reading it? That's what happened to me with this book. I simply couldn't stop myself from going ahead. The writing is impeccable. The build-up of every story is outstanding. The pacing is fabulous. The language, flawless.
Where the book failed miserably was in the endings of each tale. Many stories left me feeling befuddled at the way they abruptly came to a close. You can't even say that the endings were open-ended. Even in open-ended works, there are some clues that make you predict the possible paths the story could continue on. It turns into a challenge to your mind and is fun to figure out. But in many of these stories, the ending just jarred. It was sudden, without warning, and felt incomplete.
For a debut work, I think this is a fabulous collection. The author definitely knows how to write. Now she just needs to make sure that she ties up the ending in a better way, either by giving closure to the reader or by stopping the story at a more appropriate point. I'm definitely going to read more of her works in future. She has talent, no doubt in that.
The stories are from various genres such as sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, etc. There's nothing to bind the stories in a common thread. So it's quite a motley collection with an underlying darkness.
Here's my story-wise rating where 😍 indicates my level of enjoyment with the plot and 😕 indicates my level of disappointment with the ending. as you can see, my feelings are all over the place, so I really don't know how to rate the book. All I know is that I enjoyed every single story until just before its last para.
1. The World at Night :
Story: 😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕
2. Glass Lung:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕
3. Logging Lake:
Story: 😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕
4. Killer of Kings:
Story: 😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕😕😕
5. All the Names for God:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😍😍
6. Robert Greenman and the Mermaid:
Story: 😍😍😍
Ending: 😕
7. Anything You Might Want:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😍
8. Manus:
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕
9. Pleiades
Story: 😍😍😍😍😍
Ending: 😕😕
***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews
November 6, 2019
Let's just say, I liked the book. I liked a few of the stories a lot!! I thought others were meh. In a book with only nine stories, more than one "meh can diminish an overall rating. First off, I think Sachdeva is a fantastic writer. Graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and has taught writing at several renowned universities, and through this book has won several awards; it's clear that she is a writer's writer. Certainly, she has a way with words and is a gifted storyteller with a weird, wild and vast imagination. But I confess in reading the reviews for this very well received book in the literary world, there was some talent and turn of phrase that was lost on me.
I didn't find this to be a book that evoked emotions, inspired wonder or cause me to look at things differently. There was no overarching theme for this book that I could decipher. While I saw beauty in the writing, none of the stories struck me as particularly beautiful. Sachdeva is interesting and a little oblong or off center. As a reader who is a little off, I love that. But I didn't get transported. After the last page, I felt the same way as I did on the first page. One strange observation: as I read some of the stories, I sometimes could not tell the gender of the person speaking. I don't know if that is symbolism or a shortcoming. Truth be told, I didn't take it as either one, but noted it after a couple of the stories. Standouts for me was the titular story All the Names for God. I also enjoyed Logging Lake, Anything You Might Want and Glass Lung. Overall a good debut.
3.5ish rounded up after marinating
Read on kindle
Edited to add: I didn't like Manus that much, but it is the story that has stuck with me since reading this book.
I didn't find this to be a book that evoked emotions, inspired wonder or cause me to look at things differently. There was no overarching theme for this book that I could decipher. While I saw beauty in the writing, none of the stories struck me as particularly beautiful. Sachdeva is interesting and a little oblong or off center. As a reader who is a little off, I love that. But I didn't get transported. After the last page, I felt the same way as I did on the first page. One strange observation: as I read some of the stories, I sometimes could not tell the gender of the person speaking. I don't know if that is symbolism or a shortcoming. Truth be told, I didn't take it as either one, but noted it after a couple of the stories. Standouts for me was the titular story All the Names for God. I also enjoyed Logging Lake, Anything You Might Want and Glass Lung. Overall a good debut.
3.5ish rounded up after marinating
Read on kindle
Edited to add: I didn't like Manus that much, but it is the story that has stuck with me since reading this book.
February 5, 2018
"Wonder and terror meet at the horizon, and we walk the knife-edge between them." These words end the introduction to this powerful, haunting collection of short stories. Sachdeva explains in her introduction that in old times people knew better than to trust their gods. "Gods" enter these stories in unexpected, sometimes wondrous and sometimes terrifying ways. I put "gods" in quotations because what enters into these stories is never called god or what is expected of god, but instead is a force, a magical entity, something otherworldly that is hard to put a name to.
Sachdeva's stories take place in many locations around the globe and at many different time periods, some past, others present and one in a horrific dystopian future. Sometimes this magical presence offers harm or mischief into the character's life and at other times it offers comfort, but most often both occur. Even when this magical entity is helping the characters out of a horrible situation, there is a terrible flip side to it. For example, the young women kidnapped in Abuja are able to fool their captors by looking into their eyes and hypnotizing them. They continue to use this skill in their lives as they evade not only their captors, but to their advantage to steal from others. And on a deeper level, even though they have escaped their captors, they can never return home as the innocent young girls they were. They have irrevocably changed. In another story, a newly-wed fisherman becomes enamored of the mermaid he encounters off the coast of Newfoundland. However, as his enamorment of the mermaid grows, the rest of the world fades in beauty and interest for him. Now, this mermaid is in love with a giant great white shark and sings to bring fish to the shark so he will be well fed and not wish to eat her. This makes the fisherman extremely successful when fishing in these parts, however, there is an extremely disturbing development when tropical fish begin to fill their nets.
These stories are deep and convoluted. They force the reader to ponder serious questions. There are dark mysterious forces at work within these stories, but such ethereal beauty as well. I thought these stories were incredibly well conceived and executed. There is something unnerving and unsettling about them that touches upon something real that is hard to put into words. The title is so appropriate because there is so much we cannot quite perfectly describe but feel, and many ascribe it to Gods or higher being. I would highly recommend reading this!
Thank you to netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Sachdeva's stories take place in many locations around the globe and at many different time periods, some past, others present and one in a horrific dystopian future. Sometimes this magical presence offers harm or mischief into the character's life and at other times it offers comfort, but most often both occur. Even when this magical entity is helping the characters out of a horrible situation, there is a terrible flip side to it. For example, the young women kidnapped in Abuja are able to fool their captors by looking into their eyes and hypnotizing them. They continue to use this skill in their lives as they evade not only their captors, but to their advantage to steal from others. And on a deeper level, even though they have escaped their captors, they can never return home as the innocent young girls they were. They have irrevocably changed. In another story, a newly-wed fisherman becomes enamored of the mermaid he encounters off the coast of Newfoundland. However, as his enamorment of the mermaid grows, the rest of the world fades in beauty and interest for him. Now, this mermaid is in love with a giant great white shark and sings to bring fish to the shark so he will be well fed and not wish to eat her. This makes the fisherman extremely successful when fishing in these parts, however, there is an extremely disturbing development when tropical fish begin to fill their nets.
These stories are deep and convoluted. They force the reader to ponder serious questions. There are dark mysterious forces at work within these stories, but such ethereal beauty as well. I thought these stories were incredibly well conceived and executed. There is something unnerving and unsettling about them that touches upon something real that is hard to put into words. The title is so appropriate because there is so much we cannot quite perfectly describe but feel, and many ascribe it to Gods or higher being. I would highly recommend reading this!
Thank you to netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
March 13, 2023
As with any collection of short fiction, these nine stories vary in impact and power. When they work, they soar. The writing is excellent, the imagination of Ms Sachdeva is awesome, each story tested my own boundaries. At times it felt like a three star book, but when it worked, it went beyond five stars.
One cannot be unmoved by some of these powerful stories, especially the title story, the first story and the final two. I honestly had no ides where any of the stories were going, but they always challenged and entertained. Certainly not for everyone, but it sure worked for me.
Thanks to my granddaughter Meghan who recommended this to me and may be attending the Iowa Writers Workshop and is a writer herself. Five uneven, glorious stars.
One cannot be unmoved by some of these powerful stories, especially the title story, the first story and the final two. I honestly had no ides where any of the stories were going, but they always challenged and entertained. Certainly not for everyone, but it sure worked for me.
Thanks to my granddaughter Meghan who recommended this to me and may be attending the Iowa Writers Workshop and is a writer herself. Five uneven, glorious stars.
July 4, 2018
A difficult book to review.
I enjoyed three stories in the whole collection:
1. The World by Night - The story takes place in a cave. There is hope and hopelessness. Beautifully written and shows how delicate human relationships are
2. Robert Greenman and the Mermaid - a fisherman who thought he was happy with life meets a mermaid. Themes of happiness, wonder, death, prey and predator relationships etc.
3. Anything You Might Want - well written; about futility of human relationships and the need to freedom from other people.
I found the following stories interesting for various reasons - some for the plot, some for the characters and some for the writing. But I did not feel completely satisfied on reading them:
Glass Lung (A man who inhales shards of glass and then accompanies his daughter and the man she fancies to Egypt on an archaeological excavation) , All the names they used for god (Girls kidnapped by jihadists and how it damages them), Killer of Kings (angels being muses to artists), Manus (a futuristic world where alien-like beings exist and humans have to give up their hands for metal appendages and be 'forked') and Pleiades (7 sisters made scientifically by parents who are geneticists and the challenges they face). There are a few other stories in the collection as well.
Most stories were not memorable. I love magical aspects in stories but they were either too subtle or not definitive enough for me. At the end I always felt there was something 'missing'. Also, I am unsure if there is a common theme that threads these stories together or they are individual ones meant to enjoyed one at a time.
I'd recommend the book for the writing because Sachdeva really knows her craft, but not necessarily as a short story collection to enjoy. That said, I definitely think she is a writer to watch out for.
--
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I enjoyed three stories in the whole collection:
1. The World by Night - The story takes place in a cave. There is hope and hopelessness. Beautifully written and shows how delicate human relationships are
2. Robert Greenman and the Mermaid - a fisherman who thought he was happy with life meets a mermaid. Themes of happiness, wonder, death, prey and predator relationships etc.
3. Anything You Might Want - well written; about futility of human relationships and the need to freedom from other people.
I found the following stories interesting for various reasons - some for the plot, some for the characters and some for the writing. But I did not feel completely satisfied on reading them:
Glass Lung (A man who inhales shards of glass and then accompanies his daughter and the man she fancies to Egypt on an archaeological excavation) , All the names they used for god (Girls kidnapped by jihadists and how it damages them), Killer of Kings (angels being muses to artists), Manus (a futuristic world where alien-like beings exist and humans have to give up their hands for metal appendages and be 'forked') and Pleiades (7 sisters made scientifically by parents who are geneticists and the challenges they face). There are a few other stories in the collection as well.
Most stories were not memorable. I love magical aspects in stories but they were either too subtle or not definitive enough for me. At the end I always felt there was something 'missing'. Also, I am unsure if there is a common theme that threads these stories together or they are individual ones meant to enjoyed one at a time.
I'd recommend the book for the writing because Sachdeva really knows her craft, but not necessarily as a short story collection to enjoy. That said, I definitely think she is a writer to watch out for.
--
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June 12, 2018
This has to be the best short story collection I have read. There was just enough fantastical elements that it felt somewhat realistic, and the satire was subtle but there in each story but never took away from the entertainment of the stories.
All the Names for God (the short story in this) was amazing and I found myself thinking about it long after I read it.
Individual story ratings:
The World by Night - 5 stars - I was on edge the whole time I read this trying to figure out how this was going to end. It's dark and wondrous and takes place in a cave. You can feel the hope and hopelessness all at once somehow.
Glass-Lung - 4 stars - This was a complex story about a family, hope for treasure, and the wonders of the world and the strange things that can happen. I loved the father in this.
Logging Lake - 3 stars - not sure of the overall point of this, a camping trip that turns strange and a relationship that is based around how interesting one person is.
Killer of Kings - 3 stars - I liked the overall concept of angels being muses for artists and their jobs aren't done till the artist has completed their work. Ending was interesting but left me slightly confused.
All the Names for God - 5 stars fantastic! - women escaping awful fates and accepting the things they went through and who they have become. About how others want them to be damaged but they are okay as they are.
Robert Greenman and the Mermaid - 4 star - about a lone mermaid and a fisherman who thought he was happy with life. How the world is filled with wonder and once you realize that, you become unsettled.
Anything You Might Want - 5 stars - about getting what you want in relationships (all relationships) when you need them. The importance of freedom from other people.
Manus - 4 stars - a futuristic world where alien-like beings have come and integrated themselves into human life, and over time they take the humans' hands. Seems small until you consider how important hands are and the sense of touch and really hit harder than I expected.
Pleiades - 5 stars - interesting story about 7 sisters who were made scientifically and begin to die and poses the question if Nature really rules over the world and is the reason they could not exist.
All the Names for God (the short story in this) was amazing and I found myself thinking about it long after I read it.
Individual story ratings:
The World by Night - 5 stars - I was on edge the whole time I read this trying to figure out how this was going to end. It's dark and wondrous and takes place in a cave. You can feel the hope and hopelessness all at once somehow.
Glass-Lung - 4 stars - This was a complex story about a family, hope for treasure, and the wonders of the world and the strange things that can happen. I loved the father in this.
Logging Lake - 3 stars - not sure of the overall point of this, a camping trip that turns strange and a relationship that is based around how interesting one person is.
Killer of Kings - 3 stars - I liked the overall concept of angels being muses for artists and their jobs aren't done till the artist has completed their work. Ending was interesting but left me slightly confused.
All the Names for God - 5 stars fantastic! - women escaping awful fates and accepting the things they went through and who they have become. About how others want them to be damaged but they are okay as they are.
Robert Greenman and the Mermaid - 4 star - about a lone mermaid and a fisherman who thought he was happy with life. How the world is filled with wonder and once you realize that, you become unsettled.
Anything You Might Want - 5 stars - about getting what you want in relationships (all relationships) when you need them. The importance of freedom from other people.
Manus - 4 stars - a futuristic world where alien-like beings have come and integrated themselves into human life, and over time they take the humans' hands. Seems small until you consider how important hands are and the sense of touch and really hit harder than I expected.
Pleiades - 5 stars - interesting story about 7 sisters who were made scientifically and begin to die and poses the question if Nature really rules over the world and is the reason they could not exist.
February 18, 2023
An original collection of magic, surrealism, and overflowing emotions. Diverse in genre, time period, and setting, All the Names They Used for God is a magnetic experience, with each story adding a new layer of dread, mysticism, and longing. Subtle, clever, and quietly haunting.
November 11, 2017
Release Date:02.20.18
All the Names They Used for God, Anjali Sachdeva’s debut release, is a stellar collection of short stories that explores the strangeness that is the human experience and our small stature in the vastness of the cosmos. Rewards abound for the short story lover: science gone awry in “Pleiades”; abandonment and love gone wrong in “Anything You Might Want”; man versus wild (and the call of suicide) in “Logging Lake.” These are intricate, spinning tales that took me off guard.
Does this collection have a theme? I don’t know. Perhaps spirituality is the link (and there is the title to be considered); these stories do ponder the concept of a God and how much say he — or it — has over our lives . . . and how much of what happens to us is pure chance. Bits of magical realism abound (see mermaid tale “Robert Greenman and the Mermaid”), but overall these tales are unwavering, realistic looks at the human condition.
I was pleasantly surprised by these stories. I suspected I would like this collection, but I was knocked for a loop. Compelling and challenging in equal measure, this author is one to watch. I await her next release with baited breath.
Thanks to Netgalley and Spiegal & Grau for the advanced reader’s copy!
All the Names They Used for God, Anjali Sachdeva’s debut release, is a stellar collection of short stories that explores the strangeness that is the human experience and our small stature in the vastness of the cosmos. Rewards abound for the short story lover: science gone awry in “Pleiades”; abandonment and love gone wrong in “Anything You Might Want”; man versus wild (and the call of suicide) in “Logging Lake.” These are intricate, spinning tales that took me off guard.
Does this collection have a theme? I don’t know. Perhaps spirituality is the link (and there is the title to be considered); these stories do ponder the concept of a God and how much say he — or it — has over our lives . . . and how much of what happens to us is pure chance. Bits of magical realism abound (see mermaid tale “Robert Greenman and the Mermaid”), but overall these tales are unwavering, realistic looks at the human condition.
I was pleasantly surprised by these stories. I suspected I would like this collection, but I was knocked for a loop. Compelling and challenging in equal measure, this author is one to watch. I await her next release with baited breath.
Thanks to Netgalley and Spiegal & Grau for the advanced reader’s copy!
October 17, 2017
The stories set out in this collection are loosely connected by otherworldly moods, inspired by bits of magic, and soft dream-filled prose. The scenes visualized here range from a pioneer woman seeking adventure in underground caves, fishermen bewitched by mermaids, a future where aliens replace our hands with metal appendages, an ode to schoolgirls in Africa captured by jihadists, a cold miner’s daughter on the prowl, and a wild, vivacious spirited woman who disappears as the wolves howl. Thank you to the publishing house for a copy for review.
February 9, 2018
ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD is a collection of short literary fiction stories, the last two of which were absolutely brilliant.
The tales in this book are all over the place, but I think it's all the different facets of humanity that link them all together. No two stories here are even remotely alike and I enjoyed that diversity.
Among my favorites were:
LOGGING LAKE which involved a strange happening at an ill advised campsite.
ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD which was a heartbreaking story of two young girls who were kidnapped and forever changed by it.
ROBERT GREENMAN AND THE MERMAID: Once we glimpse something fantastic,(in the true sense of the word), it is very difficult to let it go.
MANUS was probably my favorite story here. After so many tales involving ordinary life, here's one that is totally out of left field. Gripping, poignant, and so creative-I'll never look at a human hand in the same way again.
And finally, PLEIADES. I don't even know what to say about this story. It's powerful, beautifully written and well told. I doubt anyone could read it and remain unmoved.
I liked the tales in this collection, but until the last two I didn't feel that this volume was anything special. MANUS and PLEIADES elevated this book to something really special in my eyes, and I highly recommend this book to fans of literary and speculative fiction.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
**Also, thanks to my fellow book blogger Cody for turning me on to this collection. You can find his excellent reviews here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5... **
The tales in this book are all over the place, but I think it's all the different facets of humanity that link them all together. No two stories here are even remotely alike and I enjoyed that diversity.
Among my favorites were:
LOGGING LAKE which involved a strange happening at an ill advised campsite.
ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD which was a heartbreaking story of two young girls who were kidnapped and forever changed by it.
ROBERT GREENMAN AND THE MERMAID: Once we glimpse something fantastic,(in the true sense of the word), it is very difficult to let it go.
MANUS was probably my favorite story here. After so many tales involving ordinary life, here's one that is totally out of left field. Gripping, poignant, and so creative-I'll never look at a human hand in the same way again.
And finally, PLEIADES. I don't even know what to say about this story. It's powerful, beautifully written and well told. I doubt anyone could read it and remain unmoved.
I liked the tales in this collection, but until the last two I didn't feel that this volume was anything special. MANUS and PLEIADES elevated this book to something really special in my eyes, and I highly recommend this book to fans of literary and speculative fiction.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
**Also, thanks to my fellow book blogger Cody for turning me on to this collection. You can find his excellent reviews here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5... **
March 8, 2024
The only thing that linked these stories is that they each had a strange, detached, unresolved ending. I was listening to the audiobook, and for many of the stories I had to check the ebook to see whether the story had really ended the way that I had heard it. My reaction to each story was “is that all? I don’t recommend this collection, but many readers seem impressed by it
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
December 10, 2019
"Sometimes John thinks he has always known this poem, that it has underlain his life like the seeds of a field, waiting for the ray of sun that will call it forth into the world. Other days he thinks he will weave it together from images and sounds and bits of twine that he has found here and there through the years and stored in his pockets until he had need of them. There was even a time, decades ago now, when he began to write the poem, but it withered in his hands like a plucked flower. And so he learned to leave it alone, to let it grow in silence, until the silence consumed it, until the words fell asleep again beneath his skin. Now he wonders whether he will ever find them."
I wish I could figure out what about this book didn't quite click with me, but it's been almost a month since I finished and I still don't have a satisfying diagnosis. The prose is good—lyrical and evocative without being pretentious or clichéd—and the stories span centuries, settings, and genres in a way I should have every reason to admire. In an age when so much short fiction tends toward the uneventful and the abrupt, Sachdeva does the opposite, skillfully condensing a novel's worth of narrative into a 20- or 30-page story while somehow still giving it room to breathe. Her talents are unmistakable, and nearly everyone I know who's read this collection has seemed to be entirely smitten with it. And yet I mostly just liked it, nothing more.
Usually when that's the case I can point to a specific reason why, but this time all I've got is a gut feeling, and not even one I feel very confident asserting. What it comes down to is that I just didn't quite believe these stories. Not because they were fantastical (though they often were), not because Sachdeva can't set a scene or stir up emotions (because she certainly can), but I just never lost the feeling that they were, well... stories. I appreciated them all very much on a technical level, could understand and respect what Sachdeva was doing and even recognize that she was doing it well, but I rarely inhabited them, and I got a strange sense (whether justified or not) that Sachdeva wasn't always inhabiting them either. We're introduced to so many different people from so many walks of life, but I always felt like I was standing at a remove from them, was always aware at the back of my mind that they were characters in a book rather than human beings who might step off the page and speak to me. Which, again, feels bit unfair ever to me—but unfair or not, it was my reaction.
Despite my lukewarmness (lukewarmth?), though, I can't deny the the craftsmanship and creativity Sachdeva demonstrates throughout All the Names. Two stories—"Glass-Lung" and "Killer of Kings"—particularly stood out to me and registered in a real way, though I know every reader will have their own favorites. (That second one of mine, about an angelic muse who discovers a peculiar kinship with the poet John Milton, actually seems to be one of the least well-received among other reviewers—but then it also caters directly to several of my very particular interests.) This being a debut, I'm genuinely interested to see (and read!) what Sachdeva does next, and in the meantime I'm willing to chalk this experience up to a lapse in my own judgment.
I wish I could figure out what about this book didn't quite click with me, but it's been almost a month since I finished and I still don't have a satisfying diagnosis. The prose is good—lyrical and evocative without being pretentious or clichéd—and the stories span centuries, settings, and genres in a way I should have every reason to admire. In an age when so much short fiction tends toward the uneventful and the abrupt, Sachdeva does the opposite, skillfully condensing a novel's worth of narrative into a 20- or 30-page story while somehow still giving it room to breathe. Her talents are unmistakable, and nearly everyone I know who's read this collection has seemed to be entirely smitten with it. And yet I mostly just liked it, nothing more.
Usually when that's the case I can point to a specific reason why, but this time all I've got is a gut feeling, and not even one I feel very confident asserting. What it comes down to is that I just didn't quite believe these stories. Not because they were fantastical (though they often were), not because Sachdeva can't set a scene or stir up emotions (because she certainly can), but I just never lost the feeling that they were, well... stories. I appreciated them all very much on a technical level, could understand and respect what Sachdeva was doing and even recognize that she was doing it well, but I rarely inhabited them, and I got a strange sense (whether justified or not) that Sachdeva wasn't always inhabiting them either. We're introduced to so many different people from so many walks of life, but I always felt like I was standing at a remove from them, was always aware at the back of my mind that they were characters in a book rather than human beings who might step off the page and speak to me. Which, again, feels bit unfair ever to me—but unfair or not, it was my reaction.
Despite my lukewarmness (lukewarmth?), though, I can't deny the the craftsmanship and creativity Sachdeva demonstrates throughout All the Names. Two stories—"Glass-Lung" and "Killer of Kings"—particularly stood out to me and registered in a real way, though I know every reader will have their own favorites. (That second one of mine, about an angelic muse who discovers a peculiar kinship with the poet John Milton, actually seems to be one of the least well-received among other reviewers—but then it also caters directly to several of my very particular interests.) This being a debut, I'm genuinely interested to see (and read!) what Sachdeva does next, and in the meantime I'm willing to chalk this experience up to a lapse in my own judgment.
June 28, 2020
(3.5) All the Names They Used for God is a slippery collection of stories, difficult to get a handle on. Most collections I read either have some unifying theme or, at least, consist of stories written within the confines of a particular genre. This book, however, has no consistency in terms of setting, genre, voice or style. It's both uneven and exciting.
'The World by Night' follows an albino woman living on the prairie, who takes to exploring underground caves while her husband is away on a long trip. 'Glass-Lung' is about a Danish man who, after an industrial accident, has to live with delicate lungs coated in glass. These first two stories have something of the fairytale about them, even if they're not explicitly fantastical.
'Logging Lake' is that mainstay of the modern-short-story-collection-by-a-woman, the 'bad date' story. Sort of. After a painful breakup, Robert decides to be more spontaneous and goes on a hiking trip with Terri, a volatile woman he meets online. There's a great twist ending.
'Killer of Kings' seems to be set in the 17th century, as we learn that the protagonist has met Galileo. This is more clearly a fantasy story: it involves an angel visiting a poet to help him create his 'great work'. It's rather ephemeral and didn't entirely work for me.
The near-title story, 'All the Names for God', is the best thing in the book. Promise and Abike are schoolgirls who are kidnapped by terrorists and spend years in captivity; eventually, they are forced to marry their captors. But a local woman teaches Abike a trick, a power, that allows the girls to control men. This is one of the few stories in the collection to be narrated in first person, which helps to make the characters credible. An excellent story.
Unsurprisingly, 'Robert Greenman and the Mermaid' is about a man named Robert Greenman who gets obsessed with a mermaid. It has a powerful, palpable atmosphere. In 'Anything You Might Want', a young couple escape the girl's controlling father. It didn't pan out as I expected, and that made me like it more.
'Manus' is a proper sci-fi story, albeit a messily elaborate one. A race of gelatinous aliens known as 'the Masters' come to Earth and, for reasons unknown, begin replacing humans' hands with metal forks. There are some interesting and amusing details – when the Masters speak English, they all do so in the same annoying voice, 'a high-pitched, androgynous blend of Long Island nasal tones and fat Midwestern vowels'. But it raises far more questions than it answers, with the ending only serving to pile more bizarre developments on top of an already cumbersome concept.
'Pleiades' is also sci-fi, of a softer type. Two geneticists create seven identical sisters, but as they grow up, each girl in turn is struck down with terminal illness. With just two left alive, the last remaining healthy(ish) septuplet runs away and picks up a hitchhiker. Despite the premise, it's lyrical and melancholic rather than plot-driven.
TinyLetter
'The World by Night' follows an albino woman living on the prairie, who takes to exploring underground caves while her husband is away on a long trip. 'Glass-Lung' is about a Danish man who, after an industrial accident, has to live with delicate lungs coated in glass. These first two stories have something of the fairytale about them, even if they're not explicitly fantastical.
'Logging Lake' is that mainstay of the modern-short-story-collection-by-a-woman, the 'bad date' story. Sort of. After a painful breakup, Robert decides to be more spontaneous and goes on a hiking trip with Terri, a volatile woman he meets online. There's a great twist ending.
'Killer of Kings' seems to be set in the 17th century, as we learn that the protagonist has met Galileo. This is more clearly a fantasy story: it involves an angel visiting a poet to help him create his 'great work'. It's rather ephemeral and didn't entirely work for me.
The near-title story, 'All the Names for God', is the best thing in the book. Promise and Abike are schoolgirls who are kidnapped by terrorists and spend years in captivity; eventually, they are forced to marry their captors. But a local woman teaches Abike a trick, a power, that allows the girls to control men. This is one of the few stories in the collection to be narrated in first person, which helps to make the characters credible. An excellent story.
Unsurprisingly, 'Robert Greenman and the Mermaid' is about a man named Robert Greenman who gets obsessed with a mermaid. It has a powerful, palpable atmosphere. In 'Anything You Might Want', a young couple escape the girl's controlling father. It didn't pan out as I expected, and that made me like it more.
'Manus' is a proper sci-fi story, albeit a messily elaborate one. A race of gelatinous aliens known as 'the Masters' come to Earth and, for reasons unknown, begin replacing humans' hands with metal forks. There are some interesting and amusing details – when the Masters speak English, they all do so in the same annoying voice, 'a high-pitched, androgynous blend of Long Island nasal tones and fat Midwestern vowels'. But it raises far more questions than it answers, with the ending only serving to pile more bizarre developments on top of an already cumbersome concept.
'Pleiades' is also sci-fi, of a softer type. Two geneticists create seven identical sisters, but as they grow up, each girl in turn is struck down with terminal illness. With just two left alive, the last remaining healthy(ish) septuplet runs away and picks up a hitchhiker. Despite the premise, it's lyrical and melancholic rather than plot-driven.
TinyLetter
May 3, 2024
2023:
I enjoyed reading this collection of short stories for a second time. but each time I don't remember it much after, except that I enjoyed it! 🙃🙂
wrt themes/things I remember...
🌟 many stories contained quite alot of hardship, common of the time period the stories were set in, and that it was both well written and explored well I think 🙂
🌟 and the stand out titular story about two girls taken when young from their village by Boko Haram - full of the reality of that, *and* how their lives continued over the subsequent years... with a kinda magical/supernatural twist to the tale, which was an interesting and pleasing place to take it 😍
🌟
accessed (both times) as a library audiobook, read by Cassandra Campbell, and 'Various' 🤔🙃
***
original review from 2022:
♥ really interesting and engaging collection of stories... varied, with a kind of common thread. keenly observed, and well described 🖤
I enjoyed reading this collection of short stories for a second time. but each time I don't remember it much after, except that I enjoyed it! 🙃🙂
wrt themes/things I remember...
🌟 many stories contained quite alot of hardship, common of the time period the stories were set in, and that it was both well written and explored well I think 🙂
🌟 and the stand out titular story about two girls taken when young from their village by Boko Haram - full of the reality of that, *and* how their lives continued over the subsequent years... with a kinda magical/supernatural twist to the tale, which was an interesting and pleasing place to take it 😍
🌟
accessed (both times) as a library audiobook, read by Cassandra Campbell, and 'Various' 🤔🙃
***
original review from 2022:
♥ really interesting and engaging collection of stories... varied, with a kind of common thread. keenly observed, and well described 🖤
June 12, 2018
Inspired by recent historical events, like the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by the extremist group Boko Haram, in “All the Names for God”, where the supernatural twist isn’t quite enough to help the protagonists find their peace; an unsettling future, in “Manus”, where aliens have conquered Earth forcing humans to have their hands replaced by metal appendages with a device called ‘Forker’; a couple of egotistical geneticists, husband and wife, set to prove that science can achieve anything most spectacularly by producing in vitro septuplets sisters, in “Pleiades”; Anjali Sachdeva’s stories take the reader on a journey across continents and across time. Some of them are slow to start, others grip you from the very first sentences, such as “Killer of Kings”, with its eerie opening line: “The angel sits at John’s bedside, a quill in her hand that may well be one of her own feathers.”
If you’re wondering what’s the deal with the “God” in the title and how it related to each story individually, think Neil Gaiman’s American Gods , where the old gods/beliefs of the immigrants coming to America are replaced by the new ones born out of humans' obsessions with media, technology and celebrity.
For a debut short story collection, All the Names They Used for God has quite a few gems!
4.5 stars
If you’re wondering what’s the deal with the “God” in the title and how it related to each story individually, think Neil Gaiman’s American Gods , where the old gods/beliefs of the immigrants coming to America are replaced by the new ones born out of humans' obsessions with media, technology and celebrity.
For a debut short story collection, All the Names They Used for God has quite a few gems!
4.5 stars
March 20, 2019
I hope it is not taken as a negative, but I found these short stories "nice," but not terribly memorable. The opening story, "The World By Night" was probably the best in my opinion, but the others seemed to drop off in delivery. "Glass-Lung" was ok, but set the pattern for relatively simplistic stories that really didn't challenge or excite, no real twist. They were all well written though and I think many readers will enjoy them, but none really bowled me over, either. Some I thought were going to be really good as I started them, then they just seemed to peter out. The title story showed a lot of potential, then just seemed to float along.
March 24, 2018
Beautifully written and masterfully crafted stories where the characters sprung alive in just a few short pages, but once again, I realize that the short story form is not for me. I utterly enjoyed the stories, all of them, they were captivating and unpredictable, but then they simply... ended. I know this is kind of the whole idea, but it totally left me with a vague sense of wanting more. Still, a lovely book, I'm glad I had the chance to read it.
November 25, 2017
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Pub.Date: February 20, 201835082451
Possible Spoilers
With this title, I was expecting a novel about the horrors that have been committed in the name of God, such as the Spanish Inquisition. But the title is misleading. The stories are more about the concept of how we see God or any power that can change our lives. This stellar collection is exploring humanity’s strangeness. The stories read as ominous and compelling fiction that I would call magical realism. The author, Anjali Sachdeva, is ridiculously creative in writing unusual and dark tales. After each story, I thought “How bizarre.” Still, after each story, I felt that the author hit a nerve, making the plot acceptable, even moving.
The title story presents stirring images of Nigerian schoolgirls who are kidnapped by jihadists. The story goes back and forth between the time they are abducted till they are adult women. It is so darn sad. As adults, they gain some sort of mystical power over the men who abducted them and they are no longer being abused. But it is too late. They have been beaten and raped too many times over the years. They no longer feel human. It leaves the reader wondering what is left when one survives the un-survivable. This story made me simultaneously think: Is surviving even worth it when the cost is that you lose your soul? And, hoping that in real life, battered women are able to find a way to leave their abusers and still keep their human core.
Dave Eggers, who wrote the best selling non-fiction “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” said Sachdeva’s short story “Pleiades” is “a masterpiece.” Indeed, it is one of my favorites in this collection of heartbreaking stories. This one is about a couple who are geneticists. Ignoring the protesters holding signs that read “Seven Deadly Sins” and “Frankenstein’s Children,” they produce seven test-tube sisters that grow to become loving and inseparable. Unfortunately, over their childhood, teens, and womanhood they are all ill-fated. Making the reader either hate or sympathize with the grieving parents. I kept going back and forth thinking that they were thoughtless parents-to-be, thinking only of their careers. Then to wondering that they were no different from other loving parents-to-be who also happened to be trailblazing scientists.
In “Robert Greenman and the Mermaid,” there is a fisherman, a mermaid, and a shark. Of course, the fisherman is bewitched by the mermaid. What makes this story so original is the shark. The mermaid loves to watch the big fish feed on its prey. She feels that the shark represents all that is beautiful in the deep sea. The fisherman wants nothing more than to escape or kill the twenty-foot long hunter. It is a sweet sad story leaving you to ponder why humans are so afraid of anything different from themselves.
The story that creeped me out the most and haunts me still is “Manus.” In this story, aliens replace human hands with metal appendages. This neatly sums up this story, but without producing the Heebie Jeebies feeling. The aliens are called The Masters. The story begins with a couple looking at their neighbor when he is opening his mail and begins to cry. He’s just received his draft card. In this story, getting a draft card means that within two weeks, you must go for an “Exchange Apparatus,” known to humans as the “Forker.” For the surgery, the human holds out their hands and inserts them into pneumatic cuffs that shut around their wrists. After removing, the hands are replaced with metal fingers that look like forks. Ugh. When it is time for the man in the couple to be forked, I actually wept for him. When it is his girlfriend’s turn, she rebels. She does not get forked. However, to keep her body metal free she self-mutilates. Leaving her body just as gross (I won’t explain more so you can be just as shocked as I was) as if she was forked, shades of the title story, was it worth it?
Sachdeva is clearly talented in her craft. I usually do not care for the genre magical realism, but this author makes me realize that the genre is about the human condition and how we are conditioned to feel. I so enjoyed the book, “Love in the Time of Cholera,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I am now guessing is magical realism. I suspect this reviewer must examine the genre more carefully. Nevertheless, there are other stories in the collection also showing the damaging results of abusive power. All the stories in this collection have a unique and thought-provoking prose. Just know that she also writes like Rod Serling on an acid trip.
I received this novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
Leave Me Alone I am Reading & Reviewing: https://books6259.wordpress.com/
Twitter: Martie’s Book Reviews: https://twitter.com/NeesRecord
Publisher: Random House
Pub.Date: February 20, 201835082451
Possible Spoilers
With this title, I was expecting a novel about the horrors that have been committed in the name of God, such as the Spanish Inquisition. But the title is misleading. The stories are more about the concept of how we see God or any power that can change our lives. This stellar collection is exploring humanity’s strangeness. The stories read as ominous and compelling fiction that I would call magical realism. The author, Anjali Sachdeva, is ridiculously creative in writing unusual and dark tales. After each story, I thought “How bizarre.” Still, after each story, I felt that the author hit a nerve, making the plot acceptable, even moving.
The title story presents stirring images of Nigerian schoolgirls who are kidnapped by jihadists. The story goes back and forth between the time they are abducted till they are adult women. It is so darn sad. As adults, they gain some sort of mystical power over the men who abducted them and they are no longer being abused. But it is too late. They have been beaten and raped too many times over the years. They no longer feel human. It leaves the reader wondering what is left when one survives the un-survivable. This story made me simultaneously think: Is surviving even worth it when the cost is that you lose your soul? And, hoping that in real life, battered women are able to find a way to leave their abusers and still keep their human core.
Dave Eggers, who wrote the best selling non-fiction “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” said Sachdeva’s short story “Pleiades” is “a masterpiece.” Indeed, it is one of my favorites in this collection of heartbreaking stories. This one is about a couple who are geneticists. Ignoring the protesters holding signs that read “Seven Deadly Sins” and “Frankenstein’s Children,” they produce seven test-tube sisters that grow to become loving and inseparable. Unfortunately, over their childhood, teens, and womanhood they are all ill-fated. Making the reader either hate or sympathize with the grieving parents. I kept going back and forth thinking that they were thoughtless parents-to-be, thinking only of their careers. Then to wondering that they were no different from other loving parents-to-be who also happened to be trailblazing scientists.
In “Robert Greenman and the Mermaid,” there is a fisherman, a mermaid, and a shark. Of course, the fisherman is bewitched by the mermaid. What makes this story so original is the shark. The mermaid loves to watch the big fish feed on its prey. She feels that the shark represents all that is beautiful in the deep sea. The fisherman wants nothing more than to escape or kill the twenty-foot long hunter. It is a sweet sad story leaving you to ponder why humans are so afraid of anything different from themselves.
The story that creeped me out the most and haunts me still is “Manus.” In this story, aliens replace human hands with metal appendages. This neatly sums up this story, but without producing the Heebie Jeebies feeling. The aliens are called The Masters. The story begins with a couple looking at their neighbor when he is opening his mail and begins to cry. He’s just received his draft card. In this story, getting a draft card means that within two weeks, you must go for an “Exchange Apparatus,” known to humans as the “Forker.” For the surgery, the human holds out their hands and inserts them into pneumatic cuffs that shut around their wrists. After removing, the hands are replaced with metal fingers that look like forks. Ugh. When it is time for the man in the couple to be forked, I actually wept for him. When it is his girlfriend’s turn, she rebels. She does not get forked. However, to keep her body metal free she self-mutilates. Leaving her body just as gross (I won’t explain more so you can be just as shocked as I was) as if she was forked, shades of the title story, was it worth it?
Sachdeva is clearly talented in her craft. I usually do not care for the genre magical realism, but this author makes me realize that the genre is about the human condition and how we are conditioned to feel. I so enjoyed the book, “Love in the Time of Cholera,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I am now guessing is magical realism. I suspect this reviewer must examine the genre more carefully. Nevertheless, there are other stories in the collection also showing the damaging results of abusive power. All the stories in this collection have a unique and thought-provoking prose. Just know that she also writes like Rod Serling on an acid trip.
I received this novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
Leave Me Alone I am Reading & Reviewing: https://books6259.wordpress.com/
Twitter: Martie’s Book Reviews: https://twitter.com/NeesRecord
June 29, 2021
“Di solito nella vita non è facile ottenere qualcosa senza toglierlo a qualcun altro” (Tutto ciò che desideri)
Nove racconti lunghi, tra loro molto diversi ma che hanno un elemento in comune: l’attraversamento di un confine interiore, il superamento di un limite.
Nel racconto che dà il titolo alla raccolta un gruppo di ragazze cattoliche viene rapito da un commando di fanatici musulmani con l’intenzione di cancellare la loro identità e piegarle alla sottomissione, ma due di loro scoprono di avere un potere speciale con il quale sfuggiranno alla presa dei rapitori.
E tuttavia non saranno mai più le stesse.
“Fino a oggi non ho mai sentito la mancanza della vecchia me, quella che poteva essere rapita, tormentata, stuprata, costretta a sposare un uomo per cui non nutriva altro che terrore e odio. Ho gioito molte volte per la morte di quella ragazza, ma ora mia madre mi guarda nello specchio e so che sta cercando proprio lei.”
Nove racconti lunghi, tra loro molto diversi ma che hanno un elemento in comune: l’attraversamento di un confine interiore, il superamento di un limite.
Nel racconto che dà il titolo alla raccolta un gruppo di ragazze cattoliche viene rapito da un commando di fanatici musulmani con l’intenzione di cancellare la loro identità e piegarle alla sottomissione, ma due di loro scoprono di avere un potere speciale con il quale sfuggiranno alla presa dei rapitori.
E tuttavia non saranno mai più le stesse.
“Fino a oggi non ho mai sentito la mancanza della vecchia me, quella che poteva essere rapita, tormentata, stuprata, costretta a sposare un uomo per cui non nutriva altro che terrore e odio. Ho gioito molte volte per la morte di quella ragazza, ma ora mia madre mi guarda nello specchio e so che sta cercando proprio lei.”
January 13, 2022
Bu kitaba tek kelimeyle ba-yıl-dım. Son zamanlarda okuduğum en iyi öykü kitaplarından biri. Hangi öykü daha iyiydi diye düşündüğümde hiçbirini birbirinden ayıramayacağımı fark edip şaşırıyorum. Öykü severlerin keyifle okuyacağını düşündüğüm bir kitap bu. Hatta öyküye karşı temkinli olanlar için de keyifli bir başlangıç olabilir diye düşünüyorum. O nedenle fazla detaya girmek istemiyorum.
Bütün bunların yanında kapak tasarımı efsane! (Bu arada, bu kitabı alma sebebim kapak tasarımı). Görür görmez kitap bende değişik duygular uyandırdı diyebilirim. Hatta ismiyle kapak birleşince... Ancak burada, ufak çaplı bir ters köşe yapılmış. Kapak ile öykülerin içerikleri çok da bağlantılı gelmedi bana. Ama tabii fantastik öğeler ile bir bağlantısı var diyebiliriz.
Başından sonuna her öykü bambaşka hepsi ayrı bir tada sahip. Kesinlikle tavsiye ederim.
Kitaplarla kalın!
Bütün bunların yanında kapak tasarımı efsane! (Bu arada, bu kitabı alma sebebim kapak tasarımı). Görür görmez kitap bende değişik duygular uyandırdı diyebilirim. Hatta ismiyle kapak birleşince... Ancak burada, ufak çaplı bir ters köşe yapılmış. Kapak ile öykülerin içerikleri çok da bağlantılı gelmedi bana. Ama tabii fantastik öğeler ile bir bağlantısı var diyebiliriz.
Başından sonuna her öykü bambaşka hepsi ayrı bir tada sahip. Kesinlikle tavsiye ederim.
Kitaplarla kalın!
December 31, 2017
Interesting and dreamlike yet still somehow left me wanting more (even for short stories). The author clearly is tremendously talented, and there are scenes from several of the stories that will stay with me.
November 6, 2017
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
'We didn’t know yet that for us there was no such thing as just sadness, that our grief had a life of its own, an invisible mouth like a black hole that drew us inexorably closer.'
This debut collection is tender, dark, at times bizarre, and compelling. My absolute favorite is Pleiades, and the story has remained with me for days. I wish the author would use her magic and turn the story about the daughters of geneticists, the sisters so terribly alike and ill fated and turn it into a full novel. But that’s just me being greedy, I can only hope she has a full novel knocking about in her brain, ready to give birth to that I can devour one day. It somehow tickled and horrified me, broke my heart and then kicked my spirit some more. All the stories in the collection are clever and strange. I keep imagining my fingers as forks. I also stepped into the shoes of a wealthy girl, hungry to get the hell out and fall in bad love. In Logging Lake, it’s the terror of disappearances and never knowing. It’s eerie, the unknown is a black hole, it’s a madness, it’s the question that can never be solved. In Glass Lung a worker in Carnegie’s steel mill is injured in a freak accident that alters he and his daughter Effie’s future.
There is the hunt for something amazing, and the terror of everything you’ve done, all the sacrifice amounting to nothing. It’s angels as muses, a girl as white as snow burying her dead parents, who finds a husband despite her cursed looks and then descends into a secret dark place beneath the surface of her land. The stories are unusual, and at times there is something ominous threatening just in the periphery of the characters vision. It’s terrible, and lovely. This is an author I’ll be watching, hoping for a full novel! Add it to your reading list for 2018!
Publication Date: February 20, 2018
Random House
Spiegel & Grau
'We didn’t know yet that for us there was no such thing as just sadness, that our grief had a life of its own, an invisible mouth like a black hole that drew us inexorably closer.'
This debut collection is tender, dark, at times bizarre, and compelling. My absolute favorite is Pleiades, and the story has remained with me for days. I wish the author would use her magic and turn the story about the daughters of geneticists, the sisters so terribly alike and ill fated and turn it into a full novel. But that’s just me being greedy, I can only hope she has a full novel knocking about in her brain, ready to give birth to that I can devour one day. It somehow tickled and horrified me, broke my heart and then kicked my spirit some more. All the stories in the collection are clever and strange. I keep imagining my fingers as forks. I also stepped into the shoes of a wealthy girl, hungry to get the hell out and fall in bad love. In Logging Lake, it’s the terror of disappearances and never knowing. It’s eerie, the unknown is a black hole, it’s a madness, it’s the question that can never be solved. In Glass Lung a worker in Carnegie’s steel mill is injured in a freak accident that alters he and his daughter Effie’s future.
There is the hunt for something amazing, and the terror of everything you’ve done, all the sacrifice amounting to nothing. It’s angels as muses, a girl as white as snow burying her dead parents, who finds a husband despite her cursed looks and then descends into a secret dark place beneath the surface of her land. The stories are unusual, and at times there is something ominous threatening just in the periphery of the characters vision. It’s terrible, and lovely. This is an author I’ll be watching, hoping for a full novel! Add it to your reading list for 2018!
Publication Date: February 20, 2018
Random House
Spiegel & Grau
March 25, 2022
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars.
•The World by Night ‣ 3 stars.
•Glass-Lung ‣ 3.5 stars.
•Logging Lake ‣ 2 stars.
•The Killler of Kings ‣ 5 stars.
•All the Names for God ‣ 3 stars.
•Robert Greenman and the Mermaid ‣ 2.5 stars.
•Anything You Might Want ‣ 3.5 stars.
•Manus ‣ 3 stars.
•Pleiades ‣ 4 stars.
•The World by Night ‣ 3 stars.
•Glass-Lung ‣ 3.5 stars.
•Logging Lake ‣ 2 stars.
•The Killler of Kings ‣ 5 stars.
•All the Names for God ‣ 3 stars.
•Robert Greenman and the Mermaid ‣ 2.5 stars.
•Anything You Might Want ‣ 3.5 stars.
•Manus ‣ 3 stars.
•Pleiades ‣ 4 stars.
July 6, 2020
This is a nice collection of stories all essentially about fate and what we do with the hand we're dealt. None of the stories end tidily, which I like. They feel more real that way. The strongest writing, in my view, is in the more futuristic stories, but they are all readable. The Mermaid story was my least favorite, but it's hard to write from so many viewpoints exactly evenly.
I would love to read a full-length otherworldly sci-fi futuristic novel by this author.
I would love to read a full-length otherworldly sci-fi futuristic novel by this author.
November 3, 2017
(Note: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review)
This collection provided everything I look for in a short story: a world that draws me in at once, and a character who takes me on a journey. With each story, we experience a transformation. The writing is what I'd call speculative fiction, but it's incredibly seamless. Every world the author creates feels like it could exist alongside our own. Sometimes the story's place in time is clear (e.g. Carnegie's steel mills). Sometimes it feels like it could be pre-industrial or post-apocalyptic.
Most of all, though, each story stands on its own as a complete journey. While there seems to be a trend toward vignettes and character sketches in modern short fiction, I found these stories refreshing. No story ends on too neat and tidy a note, but neither are we left feeling like we haven't traveled anywhere. Each story hits the perfect balance with pacing, plot, and character arc. A delight to read.
This collection provided everything I look for in a short story: a world that draws me in at once, and a character who takes me on a journey. With each story, we experience a transformation. The writing is what I'd call speculative fiction, but it's incredibly seamless. Every world the author creates feels like it could exist alongside our own. Sometimes the story's place in time is clear (e.g. Carnegie's steel mills). Sometimes it feels like it could be pre-industrial or post-apocalyptic.
Most of all, though, each story stands on its own as a complete journey. While there seems to be a trend toward vignettes and character sketches in modern short fiction, I found these stories refreshing. No story ends on too neat and tidy a note, but neither are we left feeling like we haven't traveled anywhere. Each story hits the perfect balance with pacing, plot, and character arc. A delight to read.
March 6, 2018
Utterly captivating collection of short stories in diverse settings. Haunting and surreal. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Favourites are 'The World by Night', 'Glass-Lung', 'Robert Geenan and the Mermaid', 'Manus' and 'Pleiades'. Bravo!
Final rating: 4.5*
Final rating: 4.5*
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