What can I say about Madame Zero: 9 Stories by Sarah Hall? A lot and yet a little.
So this is a book of nine stories, and some are interesting while some are not. I wasn't sure what I was getting when I won this book in a goodreads giveaway, but I loved the cover and I loved the description so I was excited when I won it. When I received it I couldn't wait to look between the pages to see if it was as beautifully written as it looked.
Of the nine stories I didn't care for a lot of them, because honestly a of them felt unfinished, or like I was missing something. I felt at one point that they were a little pretentious. I did however enjoy "Goodnight Nobody," "Evie," and "Mrs. Fox." All of these seemed to have some element of horror to them though, "Goodnight Nobody" made me think of life and how children are often treated. How much freedom we give them and really how often we depend on them to care for themselves. Also, it was a little freaky if you know the children's book Goodnight Moon.
"Evie" was an interesting story because it was a frightening story about the self and how things might change and we might notice, until something awful happens. It made me think about all of the choices my friends, family, and even those I've made, that might be controversial.
The last was "Mrs. Fox." This was a sad story to me. It was about how we lose things, and can't be around them anymore, even though we want to, and how humans are creeping too far into nature and the natural habitats of the animals we share the world with. It was beautiful, and sad, and lovely.
The rest of the stories didn't touch me as much. I would have liked more involvement for me with the characters. I think this may be what bothered me the most, I didn't get a visual of many of the characters. In fact the most visual images I got were when "Mrs. Fox" and her children were described. Other than that there wasn't a lot of description, or sensory detail, and I would have loved there to be more of that throughout the stories, something to stitch them together.
I can't say I recommend it, but I can't say I don't as I did get a lot out of the stories I did like. But, I know not everyone will enjoy these, or the ending that some of them have, or don't have.
So this is a book of nine stories, and some are interesting while some are not. I wasn't sure what I was getting when I won this book in a goodreads giveaway, but I loved the cover and I loved the description so I was excited when I won it. When I received it I couldn't wait to look between the pages to see if it was as beautifully written as it looked.
Of the nine stories I didn't care for a lot of them, because honestly a of them felt unfinished, or like I was missing something. I felt at one point that they were a little pretentious. I did however enjoy "Goodnight Nobody," "Evie," and "Mrs. Fox." All of these seemed to have some element of horror to them though, "Goodnight Nobody" made me think of life and how children are often treated. How much freedom we give them and really how often we depend on them to care for themselves. Also, it was a little freaky if you know the children's book Goodnight Moon.
"Evie" was an interesting story because it was a frightening story about the self and how things might change and we might notice, until something awful happens. It made me think about all of the choices my friends, family, and even those I've made, that might be controversial.
The last was "Mrs. Fox." This was a sad story to me. It was about how we lose things, and can't be around them anymore, even though we want to, and how humans are creeping too far into nature and the natural habitats of the animals we share the world with. It was beautiful, and sad, and lovely.
The rest of the stories didn't touch me as much. I would have liked more involvement for me with the characters. I think this may be what bothered me the most, I didn't get a visual of many of the characters. In fact the most visual images I got were when "Mrs. Fox" and her children were described. Other than that there wasn't a lot of description, or sensory detail, and I would have loved there to be more of that throughout the stories, something to stitch them together.
I can't say I recommend it, but I can't say I don't as I did get a lot out of the stories I did like. But, I know not everyone will enjoy these, or the ending that some of them have, or don't have.
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