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Shit Cassandra Saw
Shit Cassandra Saw: Stories | Gwen E. Kirby
22 posts | 21 read | 28 to read
Margaret Atwood meets Buffy in these funny, warm, and furious stories of women at their breaking points, from Hellenic times to today. Cassandra may have seen the future, but it doesn't mean she's resigned to telling the Trojans everything she knows. In this ebullient collection, virgins escape from being sacrificed, witches refuse to be burned, whores aren't ashamed, and every woman gets a chance to be a radioactive cockroach warrior who snaps back at catcallers. Gwen E. Kirby experiments with found structures--a Yelp review, a WikiHow article--which her fierce, irreverent narrators push against, showing how creativity within an enclosed space undermines and deconstructs the constraints themselves. When these women tell the stories of their triumphs as well as their pain, they emerge as funny, angry, loud, horny, lonely, strong protagonists who refuse to be secondary characters a moment longer. From "The Best and Only Whore of Cym Hyfryd, 1886" to the "Midwestern Girl Is Tired of Appearing in Your Short Stories," Kirby is playing and laughing with the women who have come before her and they are telling her, we have always been this way. You just had to know where to look.
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TracyReadsBooks
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#Two4Tuesday

1. Tagged—absolutely loved this short story collection. I‘ll definitely read more by this author.

2. More than one actually—Tales of the Celestial Kingdom by Sue Lynn Tan (can‘t wait to return to this world), the new Katherine Arden book The Warm Hands of Ghosts and Bride by Ali Hazelwood. Lots of good reading to look forward to.

@TheSpineView

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 3mo
16 likes1 comment
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TracyReadsBooks
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Pickpick

Once I started, I could not stop reading. I really enjoyed this raucous, irreverent, horny, funny, surprising, and wholly engaging collection of short stories. There wasn‘t a clunker in the book—they were all entertaining, some were genius. If you like your short stories fast, furious and feminist as anything, this collection is definitely worth a read. Recommended.

23 likes1 stack add
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TracyReadsBooks
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Today‘s reading for my commute.

#OnTheGo #ReadingOnTheTrain

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Soubhiville
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Pickpick

Read this on audio for bookclub, and was pleasantly surprised since short story is not a favorite genre of mine.

This is a collection of funny, feminist, thought provoking stories. I expect our conversation around it to be really fun!

A short story collection I‘d actually recommend. 👍

Soubhiville On another note- this may be my least favorite cover of any book I‘ve read this year. But maybe not now that I think about it- Big Swiss is slightly worse. 6mo
63 likes1 comment
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julesG
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Pickpick

A mixed bag of short and some very short stories. There were a few really good ones, but I couldn't name a favourite.

Low pick

#AwesomeApril @Andrew65

paper.reveries That cover though 😂😂😂 12mo
80 likes1 stack add1 comment
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julesG
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Colourful cover. 😉

Six stories in. I really like it.

@TrishB

#AwesomeApril @Andrew65

Andrew65 Love the title! 😂 13mo
julesG @Andrew65 You should see some of the story titles. 13mo
Megabooks That is a fantastic cover! 13mo
Andrew65 @julesG 😂 13mo
TrishB Glad it‘s good 👍🏻 13mo
68 likes1 stack add5 comments
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DinoMom
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Just a few stories into this one. It‘s a weird book. However as stated before I like me some weird , so far I am enjoying it.

42 likes2 stack adds
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DGRachel
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Based on the first story title, I think I may love this book… 😂

5feet.of.fury That‘s awesome! 1y
Aimeesue 🤣🤣🤣 1y
TheKidUpstairs This was a great collection. And yes, that might just be one of the best story titles of all time. 1y
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Soubhiville My bookclub is reading this late this year. Looks wild! 1y
Blueberry @NataliePatalie this looks fun! 1y
SamAnne Stacked. 1y
Cinfhen I can see why😄I own this one ….should probably move it up! 1y
julesG @Cinfhen snap! 1y
batsy Love it 😂 1y
71 likes6 stack adds10 comments
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RowReads1
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Shit Cassandra Saw. Sue Stuart-Smith, Susuke Natsukawa. Sabrina, South by Southwest,Spellbound. Slowdive, Scorpions, Sade, Sterophonics, Sex Pistols. Sara Smile🤪, Somewhere only we know, Sabotage, Safe and Sound. #manicmonday #LetterS @CBee

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HeatherBlue
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Maybe my favorite short story title ever 😆

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AlizaApp
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Pickpick

Snarky and feminist short stories, often with an influence from Greek mythology or the history of witchcraft.

BethM Fun! 2y
30 likes1 comment
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TheKidUpstairs
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"She keeps looking over to them to see if they understand, as she does, that life is unfair. How could they not? And not even that, because unfair suggests a standard of fairness, something to hope for. Life is unrelated to such standards. Life is a physical activity achieved by the body -- until it isn't anymore."
From "Mt.Adams at Mar Vista"

merelybookish I read this earlier in the year. Some of the stories were 🔥 2y
50 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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jackilynn
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When all my library holds come in at once. I guess it is a good thing I just brought a bunch back. 😳😬📚🤓

20 likes1 stack add
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

This was weirdly enjoyable despite being a tiny bit unfocused. It's stories, so I guess that doesn't matter. And she does something really amusing with female historical figures. It's pretty dark but you'll know what I mean. I'm giving it a pick for sure.

I found this listening to the NPR Book of the Day podcast.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
43 likes1 comment
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rachelsbrittain
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Pickpick

This short story collection was a bit of a mixed baf, with some stories I absolutely adored and others I had to slog through a bit. The defining theme of the collection is feminism and giving voice to fierce women. My favorites were "A Few Normal Things That Happen a Lot" and the title story.

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rachelsbrittain
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Always love seeing one of my current reads nestled in among my fellow TBR bibliologists 😍

46 likes1 stack add
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HeatherBlue
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We have a new feminist bookshop nearby, and this cover might as well have reached out and grabbed onto my arm 😂 there was no way I was walking out of the store without this book!

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Hooked_on_books
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I finally used my Christmas Powell‘s gift card and my books arrived today! I‘m super excited to dive into these—three from my TBR and two from the new translated lit list on the Powell‘s blog. I‘m digging translated lit at the moment!

Soubhiville Ooohhh, exciting! 2y
LeahBergen Now that‘s an exciting gift card to get! 2y
52 likes2 comments
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merelybookish
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Pickpick

What a fun & fiery collection of stories. They range in time (from Ancient Greece to current day CA) narrated mostly by women (a goddess, a witch, an overwhelmed mother). Some are long & dig into a rather mundane experience. Some are short, brash & playful. Women's circumstances may change according era but the struggle against misogyny and the confines of gender have been around for ages. We are still living with the shit Cassandra saw.

Cathythoughts Amazing picture ❤️ 2y
vlwelser NPR interviewed this author on their book podcast this week. This book immediately went on my TBR. 2y
merelybookish @Cathythoughts Yes, stole it from another article about the book. 😉 2y
merelybookish @vlwelser I imagine she was entertaining! Will be interested to hear what you think! 2y
63 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Branwen
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Started this last night, loving it so far! But Rumpel seems to be concerned about the bad word on the cover! 😂🤣❤📖 #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #rumpel

Leftcoastzen What a snuggle bunny! 2y
55 likes1 comment
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merelybookish
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My new audiobook. How could I resist that title? Enjoying so far. Clever, angry, funny and slightly absurd. They remind me a bit of the stories in Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory by Bob-Waksberg.

Hooked_on_books I just ordered this one from Powell‘s! 🥳 2y
vivastory This cover is wild! 2y
merelybookish @Hooked_on_books That's fun! I look forward to hearing your thoughts. 🙂 2y
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merelybookish @vivastory It fits the book! 2y
merelybookish @Reggie I thought you might like this collection! 2y
Reggie The minute you said Bob‘s name I was in. I still think of Lucinda. 2y
Centique For some reason the story of Cassandra sticks in my brain from high school. I would like a tshirt of this book cover! 2y
57 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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JoyBlue
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Mehso-so

Like short and sassy stories? Try these. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#shit-cassandra-saw-stories

vivastory I love this cover 2y
38 likes1 stack add2 comments