I love short story collections (especially ones that are a little kooky), but this one was just off the mark for me. I read one of Homes' other pieces, a memoir called "The Mistress's Daughter," which I absolutely loved. But unfortunately, this didn't connect with me at all like that one did.

I read Roxane Gay describe this book as 'weird,' and that's really the best word for it. There are stories with touches of magical realism, but they're often just sort of uncomfortable (not sure what other word to use for it). I sorta just slogged through the entire book, and then the very last story was my favorite of the whole collection. That story brought this up from a two-star read to a three-star for me.

It's not to say that I won't ever read anything of Homes' again, but I'd probably think twice about checking out her fiction.

Home's stories are warped, disturbing, funny, and so real. I always get so excited whenever a new book comes out! Great short stories!

While I appreciate the themes that Homes was approaching in this story collection; some of these stories fell short in that they were hard to follow. I believe a good short story is a refined art and for this I look forward to reading Homes’ earlier story collections. This collection was just “almost there” for me. The author’s satirical commentary on modern, superficial society was pretty brilliant, but not always brilliantly executed. A couple of these stories were somehow linked together by characters and I got so confused...what is happening here?
“Brother on Sunday,” the opening to the collection was one of the best here, with it backdrop of two rival brothers. One of the brothers is a plastic surgeon and the dialogue that takes place between the two siblings addresses modern obsession with the physical body being the sum of our value.
“The National Cage Bird Show” was my favorite in the collection and also the most fluid. It is not necessarily a safe tale. Homes’ takes risks with content and her ways of developing her subject matter of sexual assault, war, and, again, a little nod to the over significance physical appearance—all the while in a chat room with bird enthusiast’s talking over each other about seed and cage liner.
The L.A. stories are creepy. The folks portrayed in these stories; they aren’t really my kind of people. I couldn’t relate to them at all. That’s kind of the point. These people are so far disconnected from the world. They are like the hyperbole of the disconnected, nearly-sociopathic, image-obsessed LA a-holes featured in a reality show. These stories really had potential to be the best in the bunch. The anorexic waif whose diet consists of menu items under 10 calories (gorgeously displayed foams that her family oohed and aah-ed at) succumbs to her disorder and the family efficiently only holds a memorial on social media. The dog who has surgery to be more attractive to his owner....Such fantastic satire.
While I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading this collection; I would encourage newbies to try one of Homes’ earlier works. I know I am.

A decent set of stories, at least for the first half of the book. I probably would have enjoyed it more without formatting issues, but that's sort of an aside. I may try to read this again in full form later on.

A M Homes has done it again. This is a beautiful short story collection from someone who, clearly, also loves and respects the form. Balancing humor and insights with pace and rhythm, these narratives give us more than glimpses of our world today -- they shine an unrelenting spotlight on the absurdity of it all. [Complete review to be posted on PopMatters, so I will add the link then.]

I have really like AM Homes early writing, but her recent stuff hasn't interested me nearly as much. I was hoping this new collection would be different. These stories were okay, but just didn't grab me. It could be that I was reading from an ARC and it for some of the stories it didn't seem to have an indication of when one ended and another began. If you haven't read AM Homes, don't start here but go and check out her earlier work. If you like those, and I am sure you will, then check out this collection.

These are some unusual stories - some better than others. Overall, though, I didn't like many of the characters and couldn't relate to them at all. That's not always a bad thing of course but in this case, it made it hard to care what happened in the stories. The writing is good with some biting satire and insight. The collection just seemed a bit scattered.

While this entire collection is great, the title story, "Days of Awe" is the star.

A.M. Homes is a celebrated writer and this collection is as expected. Full of clever dialogue and satire that is so recognizable as the truth that it's somewhat terrifying.

I blew threw this book while recovering from a cold and it was exactly the current day social commentary I needed, bringing forth the things that we usually only think about and never really say.

In an interview with The Guardian, author A.M. Homes once said of her work,” What I'm doing, which sometimes makes people uncomfortable, is saying the things we don't want to say out loud." Her latest novel, Days of Awe, a short story collection, makes the reader fidget and wince at uncomfortable prose that gets under your skin and characters who simultaneously invoke sympathy and revulsion.

Reading each of these stories, I immediately transported myself into the scenes that the author writes so vividly with concrete sensory details that hint at suppressed hurts, desires and unresolved conflicts, the stuff that defines our past and shapes our present. I highly recommend Days of Awe by A.M. Homes for its provocative characters and raw experiences that reveal the foibles of humanity

Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP Viking
Pub. Date: June 5, 2018

If you want a razor sharp look into the absurdities of present-day life that will force you to admit your own ego issues, then this is your book. But be prepared: some of it may be difficult to interpret. This short story collection is penned by the author A.M. Homes. Homes is known for her controversial novels and unusual short stories. She has received numerous awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship. This is literary fiction and not a beach read. Although this genre is usually harder to read, I still enjoy it. Still, frankly, it is not the genre that makes this book difficult. It is that some of the stories are incoherent. One of my favorite authors, Roxane Gay, wrote on Goodreads, “I am a fan of Homes…This just wasn't the collection for me.” I get Gay’s words since I loved Homes’ dark comedy, “May We Be Forgiven,” but I had trouble with this book. In fact, there are only two stories in the collection that I enjoyed: “Brother On Sunday” and “The National Cage Bird Show.”

In “Brother On Sunday” we meet two male siblings and observe their contentious relationship. One brother is single and rather obnoxious. He is the type of guy who dates women half his age to wear as arm candy. Every Sunday, this brother visits his married brother and his wife, along with the couple’s friends at the beach. However, the story is not really about the brothers, it is actually about how plastic we all have become: in our physical appearance as well as in our personalities. The married brother is a doctor who deals in vanity. Eh, you know what I mean, the sort of doctor that gives botox injections and facial fillers. The group’s beach talk is about the agony one goes through to starve oneself thin. That horrible feeling one gets when they realize that their thighs begin to dimple. And God help us all, the inevitable telltale of age: sagging of skin. In many ways, this story reminded me of the nonliterary novel, “You Think It, I’ll Say It.” By the end of “Brother,” the reader discovers that it’s not only the single brother who is obnoxious, but rather all the characters are hard to like.

It is harder to follow than “Brothers,” but I did enjoy “The National Cage Bird Show,” a story told entirely through messages in a chat room for bird owners. The main protagonists are a teenage girl and a grown man who is in the army and stationed overseas. Thank goodness there is nothing sexual in their chats. The man is trying to cheer up the girl because when her mom meets her in the emergency room after she is in a car accident her mother’s first words imply that her daughter’s face is now ruined. The mother’s words pretty much sum up the book’s nods to the over-the-top importance of beauty in today’s society. But there are many other topics in this chat room, and some conversations are as sweet as they are bizarre, making me chuckle. Think a couple of old women seriously discussing the importance of which brand of bird feed one uses.

I am afraid the other ten stories lost my interest. I admit just skimming them making me wonder that if I had put in more effort I might have found something to like in the whole collection. But, most reviewers know not to waste time reading something you have lost interest in. I agree with the author, Sara Nelson, “So Many Books, So Little Time” Yet, I still encourage you to read the book because the author has once said about her books, “I write the things we don’t want to say out loud.” And, that is a very admirable trait.

Truly enjoyed the first story “Brother on Sunday” about two adult siblings with many issues against an ironic suburban background. However, from that point the writing was scattered for me. I had difficulty focusing on characters, their interactions, speaking voices, etc. The more perfect reader for this author would be someone with an edgier sense of the absurdities of modern life and an appreciation for dialog driven narratives.

The eponymous first story is definitely the strongest, which is a shame. It showed what was possible. Also reminded me of the days when you'd buy an entire 33 1/3 LP on the strength of one song. A. M. Homes is a proven, talented, award-winning writer with a large following, but after reading several of her works, I find her novels more successful than her short fiction. They seemed unable to get off the ground.