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A review by emmareadstoomuch
Green Frog by Gina Chung
4.0
i don't know who's behind the idea that every promising debut author has to immediately release a short story collection, but tell them i love them.
HOW TO EAT YOUR OWN HEART
well, it's exactly what the title says. a 13-step process on ingesting your own heart. although i guess i should mention that it also includes very somber instructions on sh*tting it out and putting it back, which kind of constitutes a plot twist.
rating: 3
GREEN FROG
THIS is what a title story should be! concise, memorable, thematically tied to the others in the collection, evocative, emotional. rocked it.
rating: 4
AFTER THE PARTY
damn. after reading about 900 books and short stories on the subject, i'm ready to call it: being a wife really sounds like it sucks.
rating: 3.5
RABBIT HEART
yeah no big deal just a stunningly beautiful description of loss and growing up.
rating: 4.5
PRESENCE
this is kind of like peter pan and his shadow when it's not attached to him via bar of soap (? why did that work), except if the shadow in question were a physical embodiment of humanity going too far and committing evils via science.
unlike a bar of soap it doesn't quite stick the landing.
rating: 3
HUMAN HEARTS
fox girls are seriously sooo trendy right now.
rating: 3.5
MANTIS
oh, to be a praying mantis living in an upscale apartment (tree) in a great location (baseball field) who gets to eat her situationships alive (literal).
rating: 4
THE SOUND OF WATER
i've read a lot of mediocre (and okay also bad) short story collections lately. it's stunning to read one like this, where each story is so different and contains the potential for absolute excellence. well done, this is one of my favorite genres.
rating; 4.5
ATTACHMENT PROCESSES
sheesh. this author can write the hell out of grief.
rating: 4
THE ARROW
jesus christ. i think this one actually physically damaged my heart.
rating: 5
NAMES FOR FIREFLIES
now i want to be a 12 year old with a crush and also eat chinese food from a buffet. call me influenced.
rating: 4
HONEY AND SUN
this was a weird on but all the others have been so good that i'm like "probably it just wasn't my cup of tea."
rating: 3
YOU'LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU
we're so back. (we never really left.) i could've read a novel of this one, or at least twice as long of a story. maybe it's just from liking it so much that it feels a bit unfinished.
rating: 4
THE FRUITS OF SIN
and now we have first person plural. is there a perspective this book cannot do???
rating: 4
THE LOVE SONG OF THE MEXICAN FREE-TAILED BAT
paying for my excited comment on the last story with immediate second person. all my homies hate second person.
and yet this is still good.
rating: 4
OVERALL
this is the platonic ideal of a short story collection: a variety of perspectives, genres, and themes that are more than the sum of their parts. there were a couple of duds in here, but even those served just to make me appreciate how good the others were.
rating: 4.5
HOW TO EAT YOUR OWN HEART
well, it's exactly what the title says. a 13-step process on ingesting your own heart. although i guess i should mention that it also includes very somber instructions on sh*tting it out and putting it back, which kind of constitutes a plot twist.
rating: 3
GREEN FROG
THIS is what a title story should be! concise, memorable, thematically tied to the others in the collection, evocative, emotional. rocked it.
rating: 4
AFTER THE PARTY
damn. after reading about 900 books and short stories on the subject, i'm ready to call it: being a wife really sounds like it sucks.
rating: 3.5
RABBIT HEART
yeah no big deal just a stunningly beautiful description of loss and growing up.
rating: 4.5
PRESENCE
this is kind of like peter pan and his shadow when it's not attached to him via bar of soap (? why did that work), except if the shadow in question were a physical embodiment of humanity going too far and committing evils via science.
unlike a bar of soap it doesn't quite stick the landing.
rating: 3
HUMAN HEARTS
fox girls are seriously sooo trendy right now.
rating: 3.5
MANTIS
oh, to be a praying mantis living in an upscale apartment (tree) in a great location (baseball field) who gets to eat her situationships alive (literal).
rating: 4
THE SOUND OF WATER
i've read a lot of mediocre (and okay also bad) short story collections lately. it's stunning to read one like this, where each story is so different and contains the potential for absolute excellence. well done, this is one of my favorite genres.
rating; 4.5
ATTACHMENT PROCESSES
sheesh. this author can write the hell out of grief.
rating: 4
THE ARROW
jesus christ. i think this one actually physically damaged my heart.
rating: 5
NAMES FOR FIREFLIES
now i want to be a 12 year old with a crush and also eat chinese food from a buffet. call me influenced.
rating: 4
HONEY AND SUN
this was a weird on but all the others have been so good that i'm like "probably it just wasn't my cup of tea."
rating: 3
YOU'LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU
we're so back. (we never really left.) i could've read a novel of this one, or at least twice as long of a story. maybe it's just from liking it so much that it feels a bit unfinished.
rating: 4
THE FRUITS OF SIN
and now we have first person plural. is there a perspective this book cannot do???
rating: 4
THE LOVE SONG OF THE MEXICAN FREE-TAILED BAT
paying for my excited comment on the last story with immediate second person. all my homies hate second person.
and yet this is still good.
rating: 4
OVERALL
this is the platonic ideal of a short story collection: a variety of perspectives, genres, and themes that are more than the sum of their parts. there were a couple of duds in here, but even those served just to make me appreciate how good the others were.
rating: 4.5