Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Haunting, Unique and Lovely June 18, 2008
I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Campbell at a book reading she gave. She was absolutely hysterical and amazingly real at the same time. At the time I wasn't able to purchase her book, but knew I had to have this compilation of short stories. From the first story I read I was captured. The characters suck you in as does the story telling. And for me, it was the first time I've read a book based on local and rural areas of Michigan. I look forward to reading "Q Road".
Joining the Circus May 17, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Utterly impressed with Bonnie Jo Campbell's novel, "Q Road," I eagerly picked up her story collection, "Women and Other Animals." I do realize that most every writer has strengths that fall into one genre, usually, more than another, and after reading Campbell's stories, I believe this author's strength is long prose such as in novel form. These stories, however, do show the master stroke as well.
In 16 stories, Campbell writes about a memorable array of girls and women. I understand the collection title to signify that in each of these characters there is something of the basic survivor, the animal that we all are in the sense of seeking out what we need to live and, hopefully, to thrive: sustenance, companionship, the occasional adventure. These are not women who live easy lives. Dealing with hardships, whether poverty, abuse, or abandonment, or simply cruel strokes of misunderstanding, these are women who do what they must to make it through the day. Each has a kind of eccentricity to her that has, perhaps, been born of her ability to survive, the way a tree grows around the wire fence that cuts into its bark. Each story seems to have a common thread connecting all with some form of abuse, or hint of, that drives the character forward and gives them each a voice uniquely her own.
Campbell's writing style is skilled, and she allows for just enough local flavor to make the stories come alive but not so localized that they don't resonate with the common experience against all kinds of backdrops. Every woman has had to survive her tests and perhaps even every woman has had to endure some type of abuse at some point in her life, and so the stories resonate. But then, they have just enough humor, just enough "oddness," that we can sit back and read and chuckle and shake our heads, roll our eyes, and sigh with wonder that we did not join the circus, after all. Life is circus enough.
A strong collection, worthwhile reading. But don't miss this author's longer works, either. It gets even better.
 Deeply interesting, creative, and enjoyable! December 4, 2002
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This collection of short stories has something to offer for *everyone*. Bonnie Jo Campbell is a brilliant writer--fresh, complex, intriguing, and unique. Each story was written with rich images, humorous and captivating characters, and realistic settings. I would recommend Bonnie Jo's work to anyone--she's taught me more about fiction writing than any instructional book could. Definitely support this author's work!!
Great Stories from the Midwest August 10, 2001
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
This remarkable collection of stories creates a bright and vivid universe of characters, situations, and places you won't soon forget. In her admirably straightforward and unaffected prose, Bonnie Jo Campbell introduces her readers to an evocative cast of Midwestern women both ordinary and extraordinary who--by a fantastic variety of means--are finally claiming the power they deserve. My favorite story--though it's hard to choose a favorite because every story in the book delivers--is "Circus Matinee," in which Big Joanie, a circus sno-cone vendor, confronts a terrifying situation when a tiger escapes from its cage. Big Joanie's story is one among many in this collection that you definitely don't want to miss. If you read only one collection of short stories this year, make sure this is the one!
Can't wait for her next book!!! August 10, 2001
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ms. Campbell writes with a strong voice and tells stories that feel very real. She manages to combine an interesting (often fascinating) storyline with characters which we, as readers, want to know better. Her writing is fearless; her stories and, indeed, the paragraphs within the stories, begin with an unusual strength and assurance, they call out to the reader, her writing draws us inside the world of her characters and makes us want to read on. I can best explain this by quoting from her story, "Goriila Girl", this is the opening line; "When beer is mixed and left to ferment and bread is set out to rise, they sometimes collect wild yeasts; these foreigners drop out of the jet stream or rise up from the bowels of the planet, unwelcome particles which give the finished product a sharp flavor. I suspect this is what happened to my mother when she was pregnant with me." Now, this is a story I want to continue reading!! When reading these stories, one is left with the feeling that the writer has a great deal of information about the world, about people - she is obviously "an observer" and her dialogue and narration demonstrate her keen powers of observation. In her story, "The Fishing Dog", a man says to another character; "You act like a girl who was raised by wolves." He smiled. "They don't like to be in enclosed spaces." I enjoyed this book of stories immensely and look forward to her next book and the one after that and the one after that. It comes as no surprise to me that Ms. Campbell has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by none other than Joyce Carol Oates, for one of the stories in this collection, "The smallest Man in the World." I believe that we will be hearing a great deal more about Ms. Bonnie Jo Campbell.
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