K-Ming Chang

This was on my 22 for 22 list, I was so exited to read it. The synopsis does not match the book though and I’m actually a bit resentful that what I was promised was so far from what was delivered.

There is a brilliant story and an inventive writer here, but it’s buried by relentless - and I mean relentless - obsession with the body. Is that strong enough? No. This book is gross. I got the sense that Chang delighted in disgusting readers as much as possible.

“My tongue slipped into her nostril and a pebble of dried mucus dissolved on my tongue. I knew everything she smelled that day”

I read that K-Ming Chang was a sophomore in college home for summer break when she wrote this, and honestly, I think that immaturity was evident. Maybe she’s avant garde. Either way I learned that scatological books are not for me.

*scatology - interest in or treatment of obscene matters especially in literature

I did not know this term existed until Bestiary. I hope not to read anything labeled as this again.

P.S. I can’t fault anyone who rated highly. Kudos for finding the story through the viscera!… (mehr)

I received this book as a freebie from somewhere. Wow, what a yungun, the writer is only 24. The writing here is full of fables and bizarro dream-like imagery, almost a bit too much at times - with sequences of confusing sentences that left me distracted when those sentences didn't really seem to fit together... contradicting sentences almost. And a lot of the other imagery is harsh. These stories are like dreams as they are a little hard to hold on to, sometimes just a few pages, hard to piece together. Read this if you're in the mood for scattered magical realism or nightmare fuel poetic imagery, much of it body focused. These bits and pieces are intense! This reminds me of Helen Oyeyemi's books or a bit of Ocean Vuong's 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous' if Vuong used a lot more magical realism. My favorite stories are probably the last three: 'Virginia Slims', 'Mariela', and especially 'Meals for Mourners'. There is a lot of imagery packed into this book!… (mehr)