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4 / 5 starsLike most other stories in this collection, this was weird, but the kind of weird I really like! It also helps tremendously that Victor LaValle did not only vividly capture the streets of New York City but was also able to give his protagonist a very distictive voice in such a short time. Definitely a good reminder for me to finally pick up more by this author!content notes:◦ moderate: mental illness◦ minor: deadnaming
Love the writing style, it was fluid, easy and enjoyable. I liked the idea of what it was trying to get to. I just haven't a clue what the ending was saying. I am still non the wiser on whether or not this guys tripping or really going between worlds. I will give the authors writing a go. Great end story for the series just would of liked some closure on what the heck was happening 😂
Wow. A solid finish to this collection — bravo to whoever put together the ordering of this set of stories. We Travel the Spaceways was unique and tender, developing a quiet story which I will miss visiting. LaValle has written a story that felt vast and full of possibilities by the end, and I think it has worked its way to being my favorite of the bunch. Wonderful writing and brilliant characters.Audiobook, as narrated by Brian Tyree Henry: Brian Tyree Henry really nailed this performance. His
I loved the narrating voice and the characters of Kim and Grimace, but I didn't care much for the writing style or the premise. I'm not particularly fond of what by all appearances is severe mental illness being portrayed as supernatural, especially when it leads to extremes such as the burning of Black churches (and mosques) because soda cans allegedly possessed by the old gods demanded it. I'm uncomfortable with that on so many levels, none of which I'm keen on trying to articulate right now.
Honestly... no idea what I've just read ahaha! I liked the style of writing though so I'll probably give some other stuff by LaValle a go
“Wait a second. Tell me the truth. Have I lost my mind?” “Oh, you shouldn’t ask me,” I said, as I stepped out. “I lost mine a long time ago.”
Brian Tyree Henry x Victor Lavalle & a really really out there story. It was magic. It was exactly the kind of weird that I love. It was otherworldly, yet human. Frustrating. Enraging. Tender. Victor Lavalle scares me as a writer with how much I enjoy his work. His work is just so much for me to contend with mentally. It’s like drowning. Swimming can be fun, but when the water gets out of control you feel like you’re being dragged out of the universe. It’s frightening, and electric. The voice ac...
So refreshingly original! Meet Grimace, a homeless man living in NYC. He is on a one man mission to free African Americans from spiritual enslavement. He carries with him a bag of friends, aluminium cans and a Coke bottle who help him on his mission. Is he mentally ill or is there more to the stinky man who talks, no yells at a garbage bag? One night he meets his soulmate Kim, also an outcast of society. And so begins their journey to discovering themselves and each other. I loved this story. I...
2 StarsI didn't get it. Why was he doing the things he was doing?? It didn't make sense. The ancestors would NOT go about communication that way. WTF?
There is so much to mine here; homelessness, the treatment of transwomen, the Black church, the erasure of Black peoples history, mental illness, and the disregard of the humanity of the marginalized.
Really loved the voice of the protagonist in this one.
Sun Ra and H.P. Lovecraft MashupReview of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook (August 2021)We travel the spaceways, from planet to planet. We travel the spaceways,from planet to planet. - lyrics to We Travel the Spaceways* by Sun Ra (1914-1993)We Travel the Spaceways was yet another favourite of mine in Amazon Original's Black Stars series. Like Nisi Shawls's 2043… it takes its title inspiration from a music work, although neither author acknowledges that in the story itself. So it is more from my
Victor LaValle's specialty lately seems to be marginalized people - the homeless, the mentally ill, people who are ignored by large swathes of humanity because they don't want to deal. Here, a homeless man, named Grimace for his large purple jacket, moves around the city setting fires to black churches while he speaks with the cans of soda in his shoulder sack. Is he crazy? Is he sane? Or is he on some special mission? Awesome stuff - I loved it.
Nice story. The twists were pretty good.
Quirky Novella Is A Fun Read.Short and sweet with a street bum protagonist who converses with a trash bag of bottles and tin cans and follows directives from on high. I don't think I quite got it but I enjoyed the ride.
3-3.5 of 5 starsI liked this entry to the Black Stars (a series by Amazon Original Stories) anthology. I read this completely via audiobook on my commute home today. And I gotta say that the narrator, Brian Tyree Henry, has a very pleasingly thunderous voice that I could listen to all day! Definitely need to see what else Henry has voice-acted on! This is also my introduction to LaValle's prose. I've owned The Ballad of Black Tom in ebook format for some time but haven't gotten to it yet. Though...
3.5⭐️I really enjoyed this and it gave me a quick jumpstart into Sci-Fi September. Let's start with the pros. The pacing was just right for me. It's only 40 pages, but there is a lot that LaValle says in these 40 pages. It's a commentary on mental health, homelessness in America, & how the homeless are treated. Early on the main character says,You spend enough time being actively ignored, and you learn to protect yourself. Stuff your feelings in one sock, . . . The story is pretty easy to follow...
2.5 stars
Cool Story. Keeps you guessing if it's real or delusion
