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jlemiaj's review
4.0
A strong story, presented in short pieces that showcase a family's multitude of loves, regrets, and silences. Another lucky find from the laundry room book exchange in my building.
herelieshenry's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Racial slurs, and Car accident
Minor: Ableism, Miscarriage, and War
bethanymplanton's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
cassrose's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book is heart wrenching, and a wonderful exploration of family, love and the stories we leave behind.
pcdbigfoot's review
5.0
"Scissors taught me - is this not why we write, why we read? - that the writign is wiser than I. My characters, and at times my narrative voice, made observations that had never before occurred to me before their writing"
- Fenton Johnson (in the updated afterword of 'scissors, paper, rock')
I read and loved this book when it first came out in 1993. Re-reading it years later, maybe with some more appreciation for the craft of fiction, I love it even more.
A novel woven out of stories from different times and places, each with a different main character is wonderful. The characters (most from a Kentucky family) bring their own intrigues, each acutely aware of constraints life has dealt, by culture and psyche. You can still see/feel them dreaming as they struggle.The through line is a neighbor with her own secrets.
Read this and see what you think yourself. I found it worthwhile.
- Fenton Johnson (in the updated afterword of 'scissors, paper, rock')
I read and loved this book when it first came out in 1993. Re-reading it years later, maybe with some more appreciation for the craft of fiction, I love it even more.
A novel woven out of stories from different times and places, each with a different main character is wonderful. The characters (most from a Kentucky family) bring their own intrigues, each acutely aware of constraints life has dealt, by culture and psyche. You can still see/feel them dreaming as they struggle.The through line is a neighbor with her own secrets.
Read this and see what you think yourself. I found it worthwhile.
paytiebean's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
zefrog's review
4.0
This book turned out to be a lovely surprise. After a slow start it bloomed into a gentle and understated family saga limited to only two generations really. The language is appealing with a couple of phrase that make you pause to savour them. The structure is unusual; a series of disjointed chapters that work a little like short stories along a deconstructed timeline. In the first half or so, each story presents the point of view of a different member of the family at a different point in the 20th century. Later the focus becomes more acute but remain kaleidoscopic. This is book about the stories people tell themselves about each other and the deleterious effect of terminal diseases or the imminence of death but it isn't dark or depressing in any way. In fact Scissors, Paper, Rock (I'm not sure about the title) is imbued with a subtle optimism, I think.