I really enjoyed both of those and thought they built strong characters and settings with very few words. The collection definitely ends on a high note with the last two stories, 'The Cave' and 'The Old Man With The Golden Voice'. It felt very random and disjointed, and I didn't get the point of having a mini series in the middle of a collection of otherwise single stories. I also really enjoyed 'The Elf & The Knight', although I didn't like that the author chose to bring back the same characters for a few more stories. It was very well-crafted, and I could feel the fragility of the characters' relationships (and lives, even) emanating from the page. It addresses homophobia in a creative way, with striking imagery and subtle dialogue and interactions. 'The Boy With The Flower That Grew Out Of His Ass' was definitely my favourite one, and it's one that is quite well-known in Singapore. There were, however, a few stories I really liked. The dialogue is probably the worst part, reading extremely unnatural and forced, making the relationships between the characters seem inauthentic. The author tries too hard to make a point, his metaphors becoming too obvious in the process, the stories turning into cliches. I liked the queerness of these stories a lot, but unfortunately didn't get along with the writing style in a lot of the tales. A very gay and magical collection of stories.
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May 2023
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