Kristie Reviews:Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck

Man, I'm really rolling with the short stories thing. I swear my attention span shortened by half in the last year.

I think tumblr is to blame.

BUT ANYWAY book reviews!

Jagannath is a collection of Weird Scandinavian short stories. I say "Weird" as a genre, not just as an uncreative descriptor. Capitol "W" Weird. Most of these stories go into the territory of horror without ever getting too scary, and for the most part, I really liked that--I'm attracted to many of the trappings of horror stories, but I scare pretty easily. But to be honest, some of these stories could have cranked up the creep factor just a bit more; everyone needs a good literary punch in the gut here and there.

Despite the Hindi title, most of the stories had a decidedly Scandinavian bent, what with changelings and vittra and tiny cabins hidden away in mountain forests (which I particularly enjoyed, since I've been fantasizing about leaving cities forever and living the rest of my life in a tiny cabin in the woods--the tinier and woodsier the better).

So they're a bit like darker stories Miyazaki might make for people in their mid- to late 20's. There, that's it.

Weirdest story in the book: probably the Aunts, who spend their lives eating and eating until they get so fat they split open and a tiny baby Aunt comes out and the excess from the old Aunt's body is OKAY NEVERMIND I've said too much. Go read it if you really want to know. 8.5/10.


Word Count: ~32,000
Kristie's Total Points: 454,748

Kristie Reviews: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

I know, the title sounds like it's going to be a 500-page ex-vegan diatribe. My roommate gave me a look when he saw me reading it. But when I hastily explained the plot to him, he just asked me "where do you find these books?" A fair question.

If I have a favorite genre of fiction, it's whatever one includes road trips, weird shit, bizarre humor, and characters who are certifiably (if not certified) insane. I guess it's kind of a specific category?

Regardless, that's kind of what Going Bovine by Libba Bray falls into. The story basically revolves around a kid who's a bit of a loser and an asshole, in that loveable YA fiction way, who gets Mad Cow Disease and then starts to wildly hallucinate that he's on a mission to save the world from fire giants and find the dimension-jumping doctor/scientist who can give him the cure. There's legendary NOLA jazz trumpeters, old ladies in seaside cottages, some pseudoscience, and a Daytona Beach spring break party house. There's a "punk angel" who's frankly a lot more pop than punk. There are Norse god-gnomes. There are hypochondriac teenage dwarfs, but not the LOTR kind, the regular kind. Oh, and a lot of Disney World.

I like the bit about the tree in Hope, Georgia that grants wishes. Loveable-Asshole-Boy didn't. Tant pis.

The satire is far less than subtle and at points way overdone, but I appreciated the jabs at standardized testing (which surprisingly is not something I've seen as often as you'd think in YA fiction). The writing isn't inspired, but it feels natural to the narrator. Also don't read this if you have a strong fear of getting It's a Small World After All stuck in your head. You've been warned.

I guess if The Fault in Our Stars is the big, tragic, romantic, inspiring dying children YA book of the day, Going Bovine is the "what the hell was that actually, maybe someone dies I guess, oh and I laughed" sort of novel.

I enjoyed it. 7/10. If it sounds like your kind of thing, consider yourself recommended.

Word count: 123,224
Kristie's total points: 123,224