Letti Park by Judith Hermann (transl. Margot Bettauer Dembo): Quiet and...
This is the third book I’ve read by Judith Hermann. Like Alice, the first, Letti Park is a collection of short stories comprising seventeen pieces, some just a few pages long. All three books are...
View ArticleYou Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld: Appearances can be deceptive
I read Curtis Sittenfeld’s The American Wife on holiday quite some time ago and found it hard to drag myself away from. Those who’ve read it will know that the titular wife is loosely based on Laura...
View ArticleGirl, Balancing by Helen Dunmore: An unexpected, very welcome treat
In his touching Foreword to Girl, Balancing and Other Stories, Helen Dunmore’s son, Patrick Charnley, tells us that she had discussed with him the possibility of a collection of short stories to be...
View ArticleEvening in Paradise by Lucia Berlin: An unexpected treat
I owe my short story conversion largely to Lucia Berlin’s A Manual for Cleaning Women. There’d been others along the way but it was Berlin’s collection that sealed the deal. Given that she died in...
View ArticleThe Wooden Hill by Jamie Guiney: Stairway to heaven?
Jamie Guiney’s collection first caught my eye at What Cathy Read Next. It was its striking jacket that snagged my attention, perfectly fitting its theme with four figures of different ages making their...
View ArticleShow Them a Good Time by Nicole Flattery: An idiosyncratic collection
I’d heard good things about Nicole Flattery’s Show Them a Good Time well before publication, not in a shouty in-your-face, can’t-get-away-from-it kind of way but enough to snag my attention. Then I...
View ArticleLot by Bryan Washington: No place like home
Bryan Washington’s Lot comes garlanded with praise from all manner of people not least Max Porter, whose own writing has caught the eye of a multitude of reviewers, but it was Jami Attenberg’s...
View ArticleWitches Sail in Eggshells by Chloe Turner: A smartly turned out collection
I was initially attracted to Chloe Turner’s debut collection by its cover. Such a lovely pared back image and once you’ve read what’s inside, you’ll find it’s entirely relevant, too. Witches Sail in...
View ArticleFly Already by Etgar Keret (Various translators): Stories with personality
I’d scored one Israeli success this year with Ayelet Gundar-Goshen’s Liar when Etgar Keret’s short stories, Fly Already, turned up, looking like another. Made up of twenty pieces, some no longer than a...
View ArticleYour Duck Is My Duck by Deborah Eisenberg: Six little gems
Hard not to be intrigued by a collection of short stories with a title like Your Duck is My Duck not to mention that cover. On closer inspection, Deborah Eisenberg turned out to be garlanded with...
View ArticleFaces on the Tip of My Tongue by Emmanuelle Pagano (transl. Jennifer Higgins...
I’m sure I’ve already made this observation here but I’ve yet to read a dud from Peirene Press. Their books are always thought-provoking and often beautifully expressed, a tribute to both writer and...
View ArticleTo the Volcano by Elleke Boehmer: Stories of longing and loneliness
I’d not heard of Elleke Boehmer before To the Volcano turned up, despite the five novels she has under her belt. She’s also the author of an acclaimed biography of Nelson Mandela not to mention editor...
View ArticleDiary of a Murderer and Other Stories by Kim Young-Ha (transl. Krys Lee):...
I feel I should have heard of Kim Young-Ha before Diary of a Murderer and Other Stories turned up given that several of his many books have been translated into English. He’s well known in his native...
View ArticleShe-Clown and Other Stories by Hannah Vincent: All about women
It was that eye-catching jacket that attracted me to Hannah Vincent’s She-Clown and Other Stories although I’d spotted Amanda at Bookish Chat was interested and she has a sharp eye for short stories....
View ArticleWild Swims by Dorthe Nors (transl. Misha Hoekstra): Smart, astute and funny
I first came across Dorthe Nors when I read her novella, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal, shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017. Her crisp, plain style coupled with an undercurrent of...
View ArticleHow to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa: ‘They’d had to begin all...
It was that title that attracted me to this collection of stories about immigrants and refugees, cleverly exemplifying the many idiosyncratic challenges English throws at those for whom it’s a second...
View ArticleA Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth by Daniel Mason: Stories of history,...
Historical novelist Daniel Mason’s name will be well known to many readers, I’m sure. I remember The Piano Tuner causing quite a stir when it was published back in 2002 but it didn’t appeal to me. You...
View ArticleAlligator and Other Stories by Dima Alzayat: Immigration reprised
This is the second collection I’ve read recently which explores the theme of immigration although my reading experience for each of them was very different. I read a print edition of How to Pronounce...
View ArticleDancers on the Shore by William Melvin Kelley: More, please
Originally published in I964, William Melvin Kelley’s Dancers on the Shore comprises sixteen stories some of which recall the characters who brought his striking novel A Different Drummer so vividly to...
View ArticleCarrying Fire and Water by Deirdre Shanahan: Stories of loss and longing
I rarely agree to look at a book in response to a direct request from the author. Given that this blog is about books I’d be happy to recommend to a friend, there’s too much of a risk I won’t enjoy it...
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