Haley Durslag’s Reviews > Where Are You Really From > Status Update

"Happy Endings" - This story was engrossing...unsettling...I thoroughly enjoyed it while I squirmed. I liked how sex work was compeltely rewritten to be a woman's power under her own direction while at the same time I was given a window into a stark and cold reflection on sex tourism.

"Featured Background" - I liked this story a lot. It wove together generational resentment with a subtle commentary on how people have the power to leverage their traumas for attention, blame, or even public success.

"You Put a Rabbit On Me" -- In the vain of Black Swan, this story dealt with themes of imposter syndrome and self sabotage. A little lower on my list compared to the first two but it was still a very well written and complete short story.

“Mail Order Love”— I really liked how this story’s main meditation was on the neutralness of both characters. No one did anything inherently wrong and yet so much misaligned pain couldn’t be ignored. Even while artfully satirical, this story was humanizing for such a taboo subject.

"Carrot Legs" - a commentary on how Asian features are punchlines in America, causing the narrator to ridicule her own aging Taiwanese relatives for their laboring bodies and timeless traditions. How deepseeded the bigotry descends that we can pity those who share our own traits that run generations deep and wish them suffering while we envy those who strive to change us. 5/5