I'm not a fan of short stories. And this book didn't change my mind. In the introduction we are told that some of the stories link together. And they do but only very few and the link is quite small (except for the Faith and Hope stories).
The only stories I liked were those of the old ladies who stood up to the "carers" in the nursing home who cared for nothing but themselves (Faith and Hope Fly South, Faith and Hope Get Even) and the stories about Africa were not too bad, either (River Song, Road Song). I wouldn't have minded a whole book about those characters but like this, it lacked something.
This has been the first book for a long time that I was inclined to abandon. I just always hoped the stories would get better. They did not.
From the back cover:
"Stories are like Russian dolls; open them up, and in each one you’ll find another story.
Come to the house where it is Christmas all year round; meet the ghost who lives on a Twitter timeline; be spooked by a newborn baby created with sugar, spice and lashings of cake.
Conjured from a wickedly imaginative pen, here is a new collection of short stories that showcases Joanne Harris’s exceptional talent as a teller of tales, a spinner of yarns. Sensuous, mischievous, uproarious and wry, here are tales that combine the everyday with the unexpected; wild fantasy with bittersweet reality."
I have not enjoyed reading short stories for a long time. But last week as I was reading a biography of JCO, for the second time, it struck me that she has been a prolific short story writer. I went looking for her most famous one, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and found it in a volume I have that collects the best short stories of the 20th century. Now, for my bedtime story reading, I am reading one a night and I believe that is the way to read them. Each one so far has been a nugget of wonder and I can ponder it as I go to sleep. Apparently trying to read several in a row is not a good way for me to enjoy short fiction.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine that. JCO is a great author and no matter what she writes, it's always fantastic. I have read a few of her YA books which are almost like a short story and they are great. Will have to look for that short story. What's the title of the book you read?
DeleteYou mean the biography? It is called Invisible Writer and was written by Greg Johnson, published in 1998 and follows her life from birth to 1997, just after the publication of We Were The Mulvaneys. I am rereading it now because I am planning to read lots of her work in the coming months..
DeleteOoops, sorry, should have expressed myself better. I meant the book where you read the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" I guess the biography might be a good idea, as well. Thanks for that.
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