homesick stories, a study in haterism
Jan. 8th, 2021 03:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fwcuhi. it's friday. I was going to write about more than just...this really bad anthology but instead have this review of this really bad anthology. haha!
< homesick stories > nino cipri
this was really really bad. I'm consistently astounded that people can simply get published for old ideas in no new, or inventive ways, but getting a pass because they are Diverse. in the ways LGBT own_voices work tends to be, while some of the names were brown or asian or indigenous, the stories really only managed to convey the Gay Narrative. and not even in a meaningful TBH. the characters were very immersed in their gender/sexual identities in a way that was relevant to their plots or characters or relationships, but their 'POCness' [for lack of better word] was a throwaway detail like hair colour [given the hair is not relevant like rapunzel's] or a crush they had in the third grade [provided that crush is not plot relevant]. it was very...veryyyyyy much white gay person tries for inclusivity without really trying.
I'm really mad about this anthology lol. the prose was boring, the stories were boring, the only noteworthy thing to any of what was written is that these stories are gay now. offence to all white gay people, the merit of being gay does not make something worthy of reading, writing, or publishing. there is nothing about the American/Western[?] Gay Experience that makes it noteworthy on it's own, it's often much more sympathetic/interesting when placed along with other factors. and I mean this in writing, in fiction. the reason people write is so other people will read; the basic function is stimulation, which of course, means entertainment. nino cipri is a bad writer and I can't believe Carmen Maria Machado gave them a good review. like GIRL, you are lowering the value of YOUR merit.
here's my last general criticism: this anthology is called 'homesick stories'. the word 'homesick' here is very important. implies a connection to the idea of house or home and someone separate or alien to it. none of the stories in this hit anywhere near that marker. the first one is a house with a ghost in it. the second one is just a quiz. the third is about getting eaten by a dresser. actually the third is about a horror movie but in transcribed audio format. the fourth is about getting eaten by a dresser. the fifth is about flying on a tree. fifth is about time travel. sixth is about a ukranian cleaner escaping the monotony of cleaning by jumping into an ocean underneath a couch. seventh is a really badly done au. the final one ... guy scams his friends into making a documentary with him.
I lied. here is my last general criticism of it: cipri has to have been a fanfic writer at some point. it is just sooooo astoundly clear in how they construct short stories. no context clues, no slowly building of the history or character of the protagonist/narrator, no building of the idea you're writing this story about ... there's no structure presented. it's all written from this mindset that You, Reader, care about the story [or lack thereof] because you care about the characters. because you know the characters. the plot can hit whatever beats it wants because you're pre-invested, and you enjoy those overdone beats because, you're invested. no effort put into making you invested. fanfic writing is not bad, but the best fics are the ones that have a clear grasp and presentation of character. or idea/arc. mediocre fic, inspires bad habits. this anthology is a perfect example of this.
out of these options, dead air was the most interesting due to format. it's an audio transcription, which immediately saves you from cipri's lackluster prose ... here's the thing, when you decide to write in an unusual format ... the strength of that lens lies in how it limits your narrative. there's no point in having it only be an audio thing, if you know - you're trying to find ways to explain all of the story. the hauntedness, the mysterioso, the fear in the Unknowing is that you're not experiencing what happens in the Whole. you're stranded in the midst of a story that's progressing and no lens to see or understand the full picture. so this story fails because it explains. but, I'll give it the merit of trying anyway.
the idea of 'homesickness' is that the love interest is literally sick because she's strayed away from home. and home is a creepy town in the middle of nowhere that can't exist to public perception.... very literal and boring-ass use of it - not that the literal use can't be interesting, it just wasn't in this execution ... the emotional pull of the characters to each other, and Maddie[?] to her home was um...not well executed. none of the relationships in this collection ever strike an emotional chord because the writing is bad.
I'll go through the rest as briefly or non-briefly as I wish.
A Silly Love Story - this is the worst of the stories in this collection. I'm genuinely so astounded that they chose to open with this. this has the worst prose - I think the authorial excuse is that the pov character is neurodivergent so the voice would be very simplistic and to-the-point and direct. I think there are ways to stay within these bounds and still have the voice be interesting and engaging. it becomes evidently clear, as you read through, cipri is does not have the technical ability to do so. guys there is no narrative relevance to a poltergeist being in the apartment. like...ummmm I guess you're the representation of the narrator's inability to progress. but seriously it's so badly done. again, it is clearly the weakest. but at least... it kind of sets the expectation of what cipri means by 'homesick'. what kind of hauntings in regards to dwelling will be presented.
Which Super Little Dead Girl Are You
this is a quiz. again it's not a new idea or a new format............................it's literally not new. that's all I have to say. it's just a organization and summary of common dead girl stories. none being particularly interesting or touching upon the idea of homesick/haunting in the way ^ made you expect.
She Hides Sometimes
house closes in on itself as narrator's mother suffers from dementia. she faces this by climbing into the dresser which is the only thing that has not changed shape to become smaller. concept interesting enough, as always cipri's execution leaves you wanting more - not in the positive way, but the this could've been done better way. the narrator was brown. I'm brown. there were ways to make this story a brown story. that was not included in any of cipri's considerations.
Let Down, Set Free
ohhh. my bone to pick with this was the super lazy foresight. the name of the husband the narrator is divorcing is the same name of the husband of the protagonist's sister in She Hides Sometimes. it's explicitly referred to in the last story that the husband is cheating ... so like ... this story which is not about the same couple ... gbptenjkadfgpxviuoqebladf[zxgivjk LIKE DO YOU SEE HOW LAZY IT IS? like it's horrible to put them next to each other, it makes no sense as an easter egg... also after one sister gets eaten by a house the other floating off into the sky would've been interesting and tragic so I don't get why the author didn't lean into that. anyway it was bad planning and set an expectation that was dashed immediately because even if it was simply in ... um skin colour, at least a brown narrator would've been better than a white one.
The Shape of My Name
the mysterious figure in my childhood was Transgendered Me. also. generational incest. sorry this story tried So So Hard and it was literally just not good.
Not An Ocean But The Sea
this actually, I felt had the most sympathetic and unique narrator of all the stories. but it was so pitifully short ... I really like the idea and message in retrospect, but while reading the execution was definitely bad. it was just so obvious, throughout all these stories, the author was trying to create different characters with different experiences and makeup and just did not have the skill or followthrough to do so.
Presque Vu
the way this universe just Was Not Explained At All. like in media res is FINE as long as you explain what's going on at some point and it is Never Explained What Is Going On. like I guess conceptually it's cool ... but like everything in this book, all of this shit can be found in a tumblr 'au prompt list!' ... which is not bad it's just like, I see where you stole this from....and it's kind of .... I think because you're writing something that was a free idea provided by a Community you shouldn't be allowed to monetize it or pass it off as your own without some acknowledgement of where/what it was inspired by you know? anyway I digress. this story out of all the stories in this book missed the homesickness mark SO BADDDDD. made very little sense. tried for something and failed very badly. like every other story was just underwhelming in execution, this was underwhelming and badly botched. and Once Again. this is something you're allowed to get away with in fanfic [half-assed au scenario] because people want to reasonate with the characters and understanding of the characters/relationship leads to implicit understanding of context. this vagueness only works in original fiction if you're a good writer. and as I've said, over and over, nino cipri is a Bad Writer.
the last story. something something star stuff ..... wow it's so long and for no reason. author attempts to create Characters and tell their Stories and also Be Funny [they are not funny]. it's split into three parts, each focused on a specific character... for the final time cipri is a bad writer stylistically and technically and nothing they tried worked.
< homesick stories > nino cipri
this was really really bad. I'm consistently astounded that people can simply get published for old ideas in no new, or inventive ways, but getting a pass because they are Diverse. in the ways LGBT own_voices work tends to be, while some of the names were brown or asian or indigenous, the stories really only managed to convey the Gay Narrative. and not even in a meaningful TBH. the characters were very immersed in their gender/sexual identities in a way that was relevant to their plots or characters or relationships, but their 'POCness' [for lack of better word] was a throwaway detail like hair colour [given the hair is not relevant like rapunzel's] or a crush they had in the third grade [provided that crush is not plot relevant]. it was very...veryyyyyy much white gay person tries for inclusivity without really trying.
I'm really mad about this anthology lol. the prose was boring, the stories were boring, the only noteworthy thing to any of what was written is that these stories are gay now. offence to all white gay people, the merit of being gay does not make something worthy of reading, writing, or publishing. there is nothing about the American/Western[?] Gay Experience that makes it noteworthy on it's own, it's often much more sympathetic/interesting when placed along with other factors. and I mean this in writing, in fiction. the reason people write is so other people will read; the basic function is stimulation, which of course, means entertainment. nino cipri is a bad writer and I can't believe Carmen Maria Machado gave them a good review. like GIRL, you are lowering the value of YOUR merit.
here's my last general criticism: this anthology is called 'homesick stories'. the word 'homesick' here is very important. implies a connection to the idea of house or home and someone separate or alien to it. none of the stories in this hit anywhere near that marker. the first one is a house with a ghost in it. the second one is just a quiz. the third is about getting eaten by a dresser. actually the third is about a horror movie but in transcribed audio format. the fourth is about getting eaten by a dresser. the fifth is about flying on a tree. fifth is about time travel. sixth is about a ukranian cleaner escaping the monotony of cleaning by jumping into an ocean underneath a couch. seventh is a really badly done au. the final one ... guy scams his friends into making a documentary with him.
I lied. here is my last general criticism of it: cipri has to have been a fanfic writer at some point. it is just sooooo astoundly clear in how they construct short stories. no context clues, no slowly building of the history or character of the protagonist/narrator, no building of the idea you're writing this story about ... there's no structure presented. it's all written from this mindset that You, Reader, care about the story [or lack thereof] because you care about the characters. because you know the characters. the plot can hit whatever beats it wants because you're pre-invested, and you enjoy those overdone beats because, you're invested. no effort put into making you invested. fanfic writing is not bad, but the best fics are the ones that have a clear grasp and presentation of character. or idea/arc. mediocre fic, inspires bad habits. this anthology is a perfect example of this.
out of these options, dead air was the most interesting due to format. it's an audio transcription, which immediately saves you from cipri's lackluster prose ... here's the thing, when you decide to write in an unusual format ... the strength of that lens lies in how it limits your narrative. there's no point in having it only be an audio thing, if you know - you're trying to find ways to explain all of the story. the hauntedness, the mysterioso, the fear in the Unknowing is that you're not experiencing what happens in the Whole. you're stranded in the midst of a story that's progressing and no lens to see or understand the full picture. so this story fails because it explains. but, I'll give it the merit of trying anyway.
the idea of 'homesickness' is that the love interest is literally sick because she's strayed away from home. and home is a creepy town in the middle of nowhere that can't exist to public perception.... very literal and boring-ass use of it - not that the literal use can't be interesting, it just wasn't in this execution ... the emotional pull of the characters to each other, and Maddie[?] to her home was um...not well executed. none of the relationships in this collection ever strike an emotional chord because the writing is bad.
I'll go through the rest as briefly or non-briefly as I wish.
A Silly Love Story - this is the worst of the stories in this collection. I'm genuinely so astounded that they chose to open with this. this has the worst prose - I think the authorial excuse is that the pov character is neurodivergent so the voice would be very simplistic and to-the-point and direct. I think there are ways to stay within these bounds and still have the voice be interesting and engaging. it becomes evidently clear, as you read through, cipri is does not have the technical ability to do so. guys there is no narrative relevance to a poltergeist being in the apartment. like...ummmm I guess you're the representation of the narrator's inability to progress. but seriously it's so badly done. again, it is clearly the weakest. but at least... it kind of sets the expectation of what cipri means by 'homesick'. what kind of hauntings in regards to dwelling will be presented.
Which Super Little Dead Girl Are You
this is a quiz. again it's not a new idea or a new format............................it's literally not new. that's all I have to say. it's just a organization and summary of common dead girl stories. none being particularly interesting or touching upon the idea of homesick/haunting in the way ^ made you expect.
She Hides Sometimes
house closes in on itself as narrator's mother suffers from dementia. she faces this by climbing into the dresser which is the only thing that has not changed shape to become smaller. concept interesting enough, as always cipri's execution leaves you wanting more - not in the positive way, but the this could've been done better way. the narrator was brown. I'm brown. there were ways to make this story a brown story. that was not included in any of cipri's considerations.
Let Down, Set Free
ohhh. my bone to pick with this was the super lazy foresight. the name of the husband the narrator is divorcing is the same name of the husband of the protagonist's sister in She Hides Sometimes. it's explicitly referred to in the last story that the husband is cheating ... so like ... this story which is not about the same couple ... gbptenjkadfgpxviuoqebladf[zxgivjk LIKE DO YOU SEE HOW LAZY IT IS? like it's horrible to put them next to each other, it makes no sense as an easter egg... also after one sister gets eaten by a house the other floating off into the sky would've been interesting and tragic so I don't get why the author didn't lean into that. anyway it was bad planning and set an expectation that was dashed immediately because even if it was simply in ... um skin colour, at least a brown narrator would've been better than a white one.
The Shape of My Name
the mysterious figure in my childhood was Transgendered Me. also. generational incest. sorry this story tried So So Hard and it was literally just not good.
Not An Ocean But The Sea
this actually, I felt had the most sympathetic and unique narrator of all the stories. but it was so pitifully short ... I really like the idea and message in retrospect, but while reading the execution was definitely bad. it was just so obvious, throughout all these stories, the author was trying to create different characters with different experiences and makeup and just did not have the skill or followthrough to do so.
Presque Vu
the way this universe just Was Not Explained At All. like in media res is FINE as long as you explain what's going on at some point and it is Never Explained What Is Going On. like I guess conceptually it's cool ... but like everything in this book, all of this shit can be found in a tumblr 'au prompt list!' ... which is not bad it's just like, I see where you stole this from....and it's kind of .... I think because you're writing something that was a free idea provided by a Community you shouldn't be allowed to monetize it or pass it off as your own without some acknowledgement of where/what it was inspired by you know? anyway I digress. this story out of all the stories in this book missed the homesickness mark SO BADDDDD. made very little sense. tried for something and failed very badly. like every other story was just underwhelming in execution, this was underwhelming and badly botched. and Once Again. this is something you're allowed to get away with in fanfic [half-assed au scenario] because people want to reasonate with the characters and understanding of the characters/relationship leads to implicit understanding of context. this vagueness only works in original fiction if you're a good writer. and as I've said, over and over, nino cipri is a Bad Writer.
the last story. something something star stuff ..... wow it's so long and for no reason. author attempts to create Characters and tell their Stories and also Be Funny [they are not funny]. it's split into three parts, each focused on a specific character... for the final time cipri is a bad writer stylistically and technically and nothing they tried worked.
