I very much enjoyed this collection of short stories. The Grace/Ellen stories that popped up throughout felt nostalgic. I especially enjoyed the Novella. I’m not sure the title of this story set accurately portrays the theme of the stories, but it certainly caught my attention and made me want to read it!

I originally wanted to read this because I thought the title was so clever. I loved the idea behind it and thought I'd enjoy stories loosely based on that idea. But, ultimately, while there is nothing wrong with these stories, they aren't really for me. I can see them resonating with people, but I didn't really connect with any of them. Maybe that's by design, maybe it was my failure to connect to the time period(s) or the tone, I'm not sure.

The Favorite, The Fissure, Homesickness - All okay, but I didn't really connect to any of the characters.

The Last Day - It was kind of confusing having the same characters for some stories and then not others. I kept on trying to tie them together. That being said this was by far my favorite story.

The stories after this dealt with some heavy topics - fertility, aging, abortion. That being said I mostly dnf'd starting at "The Prayer...". I skimmed the remaining stories to see if any would draw me in like The Last Day, but nothing quite caught my eye.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Apprentice House Publishing for providing me with an E-ARC to review!
This does not in any way, shape, or form, alter my opinions or rating of this books.
The humor in this book did it for me! Such a great collection of short stories. I really do recommend it for a quick relatable read. I found it easy to sit with in between other genres. Rating 3/5

I was really hoping to love this book but I really struggled to get into it. That may not be the same for everyone.

Thank you to the author, Apprentice House and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay in posting this review, I had a bit too much going on.

This collection of short stories is a gem. The units of measure the author refers to in the title are not mathematical, but rather those we all use in our lives: amount of effort expended, love received, grace given, hurt caused - an unusual concept, but so very relatable. The stories of relationship and being are very well-written, insightful and resonate - to varying degrees, some deeply and some less. Overall not a gripping read, but a quiet and thoughtful one that I enjoyed.

In a Nutshell: A short story collection set around various “units of measure” that we use in our life. Loved the concept. Liked the stories. But something felt missing. Still recommended, as the variety of the stories in terms of plot and genre is great.

The author’s note at the start of this short story collection clearly explains the intriguing theme underlying the seventeen stories herein. (Well, sixteen stories and a novella.) Her definition of “units of measure”, as mentioned in the title, does not refer to the mathematical or scientific standards of measurement but to the way we measure everything in our lives. Whether generic choices or professional decisions or personal commitments or long-term goals, whether our behaviour with others or our treatment of ourselves, there is always some evaluation involved, consciously or subconsciously. And these are the “units” explored in this collection.

The theme is very compelling. I’ve never looked at life choices as having units of measure, but it makes so much sense! These units might be taught or instinctive, but they are still applicable to every human on the planet. What we get in the collection is thus a set of characters battling very real issues, many of which might also be what we have faced in our lives or know someone who has gone through the same. We get an interesting peek into human behaviour, but not necessarily of the kind typically seen in fiction. The decisions in these stories are often complex, involving greater contemplation and riskier outcomes.

The execution of the above intent though was a slightly mixed bag to me, though I am not exactly sure why. I love short stories, I enjoy character-oriented fiction, and I relish thought-provoking content. All of these are applicable to this collection. But somehow, there was nothing that gripped me. I could easily keep the book aside and never felt tempted to read “just one more”, which often happens when I read a good anthology/collection. The stories weren’t bad; they just didn’t reach the ‘fabulous’ mark for me.

That said, I loved the variety of the genres and characters, Some of the narrators are just kids while others are senior women. But they are captured equally well. Many characters go through a life-changing experience, and their responses – based on their personal units of measurement – lead to a range of emotions being captured in these pages. The writing is quite descriptive, so the stories are slightly longer.
The initial three stories feature the same set of characters at different stages in their lives, and these were quite good, lending an episodic sort of feel to the start of the book. The same characters then popped up in one story towards the end of the book. As I usually read only 1-2 stories a day when I read such books, I forgot all the “who was who” and hence the final story about these characters didn’t work for me at all. I wish these four stories had been positioned together.

The endings of the stories are suitable to the plots. Many of these stories are slice of life in style, so the endings are not typical HEA finales, but they also don’t leave us hanging.

One of the stories has horrifying animal cruelty. I had to zoom over those parts because I simply didn’t expect such disturbing content. Animal lovers, beware.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Most of the stories were good but stopped just short of being great for me. About half of the stories thus earned exactly 3.5 stars from me. These were the exceptions that surpassed that score:
✤The Fissure: How a scraped knee leads to a life-changing realisation and decision. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✤Charade: The only novella in this collection, focussing on three characters who've played various charades with each other, and how all comes tumbling out one day. A good reflection on the human psyche here. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✤Muffled Voices: Two muffled voices, but not exactly in the way you would expect. Loved the way this story went from the typical to the atypical to the right ending. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
✤Mother of the Bride: Looking at the title, I thought this would be a warm and fuzzy story. Well, it is so, but not the way I imagined. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

All in all, I did like the stories, and I do appreciate the writing and the characters. But the collection as a whole won’t create a long-lasting impact on my mind.

Recommended to readers who like character-oriented introspective stories about humans and their oddities.

3.4 stars, based on the average of my ratings for the stories.

My thanks to Apprentice House and NetGalley for the DRC of “Death Cleaning and Other Units of Measure: Short Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book! I think this is a pretty interesting one with small tales that can make us reflect a little, it's quite similar to What You Are Looking For Is In The Library.

This is one that I didn’t end up finishing (stopped around 25%). The stories are well-written and the characters are well-developed, but I never felt invested in the book as a whole (there was nothing that “hooked” me to feel the need to keep reading).

Death Cleaning & Other Units of Measure is a collection of short stories following a variety of characters facing different life circumstances, some relatable and some not-so-much. There’s a little bit of everything in these stories; coming-of-age, vulnerability, humor, and romance.

While this wasn’t quite the right fit for me, I do think others would really enjoy it!

Thank you to Nancy Burke, Apprentice House Press, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced reader copy. This is a wonderful collection of short stories with characters so real it's no surprise when a child shows up later as a teenager and you think, "Oh, I remember you. I knew you when you were a little girl."
Nancy Burke does not wrap her stories up and tie them with a neat little bow. Like life, the stories end where they will, leaving the reader wondering what will happen next. They are stories that will stay with you.

I really enjoyed this short story collection about relationships between people and the complexity of womanhood. The first thing that intruiged me was the title and the book definitely didn't dissapoint.
I'll recommend it for those who enjoy silly and very human characters, and a sweet & simple writing style.

Death Cleaning & Other Units of Measure by Nancy Burke is an initimate collection of short stories about family connections and perspectives on life in segments. Each narrative, while perhaps not directly relatable, provoke a certain feeling that is so innately human, it leaves you thinking about your own life in a way.

Burke is very skilled in creating all-encompassing narratives in so few pages, it feels as if readers are dropped right into the middle of lives of characters they’ve been reading about for chapters. I don’t typically opt for short story collections, but I am glad I chose to read this one. I enjoyed my time reading it, and it even piqued my interest in writing a few short stories of my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Apprentice House for providing a copy for advanced review.

I enjoyed this collection of short stories, especially how many of them dived into the complexities of womanhood (being a girl, being a sister, being a daughter, being a wife, etc.).

Oh, my goodness. This was such an amazing read. I was first intrigued with the title and the cover but it did not disappoint me at all. As someone who is a big fan of short stories as well, this book was just fabulous.

The title "Death Cleaning and Other Units of Measure" and the inspiration behind it is an indication of how utterlyinsightful and relatable this collection of short stories is. The author describes the Units of Measure are used by everybody in every part of their lives, amount of kindness given, amount of effort, how we compare ourselves to others to name a few and the book explores how not everybody measures up the same way

Burke writes about situtations the majority of us have experienced and can relate to with such stark accuracy, it is difficult to put the book down. There will be stories that resonate deeply with your own life experience, but Burke gives comfort in giving the power of understanding and reassurance that you are not alone, you are not the only person to experience these things, while empowering you with the resilience within

This is an author that I can certainly get behind and I look forward to reding more

Thank you to Netgalley, Apprentice House and Nany Burke for this exceptional ARC of short stories. My review is left of my own volition and all opinions are my own