Why read on Fable?
Publisher Description
- Pure atmosphere in a small package: Eerie atmospherics, bizarre mythologies, and prismatic, arresting language propel the third novella in Coffee House Press’s NVLA series.
- Obsessive queer love: Seven’s obsession with Cecilia will appeal to fans of Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt or Qiu Miaojin’s Notes of a Crocodile.
- An exploration of Taiwanese diaspora: Chang gracefully threads the transnational experience, incorporating the histories and memories, both personal and cultural, of three generations of Taiwanese-American women.
- Interrogating memory: Cecilia asks what it means to remember. Is memory a form of healing or a form of vengeance? Is remembering empowering, or is it a form of passivity and self-flagellation?
6 Reviews
3.0
Em 🦕
Created 20 days agoShare
Report
“I have no idea what I just read. A lot of metaphors about urine apparently. There’s some nice writing in amongst a whole lot of poetic waffle. I struggled to finish this.”Original writingUnsatisfying plot
rennie
Created 27 days agoShare
Report
Believable charactersMulti-layered charactersBeautifully writtenOriginal writingAddictiveFast-pacedSuspensefulDark settingRealistic settingComing of age
Lit_Laugh_Luv
Created about 2 months agoShare
Report
“[2.5 stars] Oh Cecilia, how I wanted to love you. Unfortunately, this novella is proof that beautiful writing doesn't always lead to a good book. At a sentence level, the writing in this is superb and I really did enjoy it. The imagery and metaphors are interesting but are ultimately run to the ground by the end of this. The underlying narrative gets lost in the repetitive and continuous tangents that our narrator goes on, and some resonated with me considerably more than others. I struggled with how to rate this, but ultimately I didn't find myself captivated by it.
The story is grimy, sapphic, and obsessive, comparable to https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39216527.Paradise_Rot or https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60786471.Dogs_of_Summer . Our narrator, Seven, has such an intense fascination with everything Cecilia does that we see the blurring of perception versus reality in all of her memories. The theme of memory underpins a lot of the story, as Seven constantly wonders if Cecilia feels as profoundly changed by their friendship as she does.
Despite the short page count, the book feels like a dense set of imagery that requires the reader to trudge through and hope for a semblance of plot to emerge. I appreciate the stylistic risks and the underlying themes, but this would have worked much better for me as a short story. Collecting the fragments this story offers has some payoff, but ultimately feels more like Chang flexing her (admittedly very impressive) writing skills than a true novella.”
Caitríona
Created about 2 months agoShare
Report
“An intense story of obsessional love, sounded promising. This book was hard work to interpret and I feel a bit peeved with the lack of payback for my time invested.
I'm a big fan of abstract writing. I believe interpretation is the job of the reader, however, for me there needs to be something to anchor metaphorical storytelling to the real world. Unfortunately I couldn't find it here. I think Seven's family could have been that key stone but even then the narrative was so removed from reality that I couldn't connect.
Thank you to the author, @netgalley and @vintageBooks for an advance copy in return for an honest review.”
erin
Created 3 months agoShare
Report
About K-Ming Chang
K-Ming Chang is a Kundiman fellow, a Lambda Literary Award winner, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, and an O. Henry Prize winner. She is the author of Bestiary (One World/Random House, 2020), Bone House (Bull City Press, 2021), Gods of Want (One World, 2022), and Organ Meats (One World, 2023). Her books have been New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice selections, included on the New York Times Notable Books list, and considered for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. She can be found at kmingchang.com.
Other books by K-Ming Chang
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Similar Books
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List