Surreal, grotesque, whimsical, visceral, poetic, haunting.

There is no way to sum up this book is short stories. I'm very interested to read more by the author and see how her novels work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Gods of Want is a collection of short stories. As all short story collections go, some hit better than others which was the same with this one. Though, I do think I had a harder time with this collection than I have with others in the past.

Chang's writing is beautiful. She knows how to paint a beautiful picture and evoke a variety of emotions. She also writies in this poetic way that really helps blend surrealism and realism together. That talent, while I was fascinated with it, really did leave me baffled a lot of the time and trying to catch up with what Chang was trying to get across. No fault to the author, that is solely a me problem as I always struggle with that blend of surrealism and realism.

Some of the stories were incredibly short too. I would just be getting into them when it ended which really didn't allow me to get to know the characters involved or feel like I really could do anything but dip my toe into the story. Once again, solely a me problem.

Gods of Want is a collection of short stories that I suggest taking your time with. Even with it being seperated into parts, I do think that it could be better to go through this one slowly and really allow yourself to sit with the stories.

Chang is a talent and I'm curious about her other works after this one. Gods of Want wasn't bad, but I simply don't believe that it was the right book for me as a lot of my issues with it are just that, my issues. If you've liked the authors other work, give this one a chance! If you like short stories, I also think you should give this one a chance.

I was blown away by these beautiful speculative short stories that center body, myth, memory, and the uncanny. So many of these stories are powerful and moving, queer and stunning.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. These obscure and strange stories are arranged into three sections - Mothers, Myths and Moths. Auntland is a story of many aunts finding their way by kissing women and buying vanilla ice cream. Nine Headed Birds is the myth of a 10 headed bird but one head gets severed and rains blood down on the houses below, thus rust. The narrator's uncle likens this bird to his wife who he abandoned. Virginia Slims starts with a warning to a girl at school about cigarette advertisements. She's drawn to one advertisement and she starts talking to her, Virginia, and is entranced and obsessed with her. All of the stories relate to women's lives, queerness, history and the struggles that are passed through the generations. This was a very hard read as the stories were so odd and disjointed to reality. Many times I didn't know what to make of them. Yet, I appreciated this different style of storytelling although it wasn't for me.

I was given an ARC of this book and neglected it for over a year. Today I forgot my house keys at work and had to take two more trains because I was so invested in reading this. I should have never let it sit on my TBR for as long as it did.

Chang is a force! Her stories are absolute poetry and her poetry is lyricism. I felt so connected to these stories, some of them especially so. This collection is as corporeal as it is whimsical. It moves through you and asks you questions of womanhood, motherhood, livelihood.

This is a very queer collection that explores gender and family in a new way. Once you read this, you’ll be yearing to read more of Chang’s works.

This was gorgeous, an evocative, painful exploration of queerness, gender, and family. Chang also has the most beautiful, poetic voice. Every story is packed with killer lines like: "I knew all wants were weapons that could be turned on you anytime. I thought of the story about the woman who turned to salt when she looked back at a city. The moral was either you shouldn't look back or you shouldn't be a woman"; "The water was a mosaic of fish. They moved slowly, some with antlers, some carrying lanterns inside their mouths... Light was locked out, staining the surface"; "there had to be a sky for there to be a storm: There had to be an origin for ruin"; and "I want to unbutton the stars with my fingers and forget them inside my fist."

Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. Gods of Want is a short story collection about memories, myths, and relationships of Asian American Women. Some of the stories I really enjoyed and connected with. However, some of the stories I found a little boring or I couldn't connect with. Overall though I liked reading this short story anthology. There are some strong and intriguing stories in here. The writing style is beautiful, lyrical and pretty.

"With each tale, K-Ming Chang gives us her own take on a surrealism that mixes myth and migration, corporeality and ghostliness, queerness and the quotidian. Stunningly told in her feminist fabulist style, these are uncanny stories peeling back greater questions of power and memory."

This was a collection of short stories that are surreal, queer, and poetic. It took me quite a while to finish, as I actually really enjoyed reading each story on their own.

From the author of the acclaimed novel Bestiary comes this original, queer, hilarious and brave collection of stories centering the lives, loves, labors and longings of Asian American women.

4-4.5 stars.

Gods of Want: Stories is a mesmerizing collection of short stories that incorporates elements of surrealism and explores the experiences and identities of being a queer Asian American woman. The writing is superb, and the unique form utilized by K-Ming Chang makes this book stand out from others in the genre. While not every theme resonated as strongly with me personally, the overall collection was highly enjoyable and thought-provoking. The themes of myth, migration, queerness, and the everyday are skillfully interwoven throughout the stories, and the author's attempt to dissect and examine these themes is both engaging and insightful. I highly recommend this collection to readers who appreciate unconventional and intellectually stimulating literature.

Note: this review was written by me but modified by the openAI chatbot to improve it.

I read the stories Auntland and The Chorus of Dead cousins before deciding that the writing style just isn't for me. Though I think the topics and themes of the stories are important.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Bestiary so much, it was easily one of my favorite books last year. This anthology however just felt very repetitive. The writing is still lush and you could sink your teeth into it but the stories themselves just felt very more of the same and I really struggled with this. I picked up and put this down four times and could not engage with the stories.

What can I say that has not already been said? One of the things I love about anthologies is the ability to space out the stories, but I read this one straight through. At times the connectivity of the stories felt a bit disjointed, but that may be from my lack of experience with surrealistic works. Bonus points because I love lesbians. Gorgeous, Haunting, Intimate.

This is a tough time to review this because I've read so many spectacular short story collections recently. In particular, I LOVED Bliss Montage by Ling Ma and Bad Thoughts by Nada Alic; both feel similar to Gods of Want in terms of surrealism and dark humor, so it's an admittedly high bar. That said, I just don't think the stream-of-consciousness narrative style worked for me; it somehow felt both repetitive and hard to follow. I held off on rating this wondering if my opinion would change and it hasn't, so this represents my current opinion - but I do wonder if this is a book I'd understand and appreciate more in audiobook form....

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Gods of Want is a short story collection that is interesting, exciting, and extremely well-written. I liked the variety of themes, I want to read more by this author.

I sometimes struggle with enjoying anthologies, but this one was well done. The cover is what initially peaked my interest and the writing kept me for a wonderful ride.

K-Ming Chang is so damn talented and I wish I were smarter so I could understand all her genius. But the parts I do understand are pretty freaking great! These stories were weird and wonderful and an impressive follow-up to BESTIARY.

Strange, corporeal, queer stories are my niche - this collection challenged me in the best way, playing with magical realism and myth-making throughout. I interviewed K-Ming Chang and she's a delight to chat with. Chang is a singular voice and I am very excited to follow her work. Interview: https://youtu.be/G22UZykjlyo

Really enjoyed this book. Great pacing and story. K-Ming Chang really drew me into the story. I understood the characters. Finished this in one sitting.