I love George Saunders, no doubt about it. Pastoralia is a short collection of short stories. They are dark, but not depressing; a look at the bleaker side of life in America, of lives that fail to live up to expectation. Sometimes dystopian, darkly funny, strange and very compelling. The author reads the audio version himself, which is a treat.
This collection of essays begins with one about libraries, a very good start indeed. I love Zadie Smith’s fiction, and very much enjoyed many of the essays, especially those about books I have read, or places I have been or long to go. There were quite a few essays about people I knew nothing of, and which did not capture my interest, and others which I felt simply not clever enough to appreciate. It is fascinating to hear the actual voice of a novelist, writing as herself, and come to know something of her life, how she thinks, and how she writes her novels.
George Saunders is an extraordinary storyteller; laying bare humans in all their complicated, contradictory, messiness. This collection of stories is dark, deeply thought-provoking, and enthralling.
A gorgeous short story, read by the author, about two friends who went to university together and maintained a friendship throughout their lives, despite differing rates of success on a similar path, and one extraordinary act of betrayal.
After Australia is a series of speculative short stories or poems, written by Indigenous writers and writers of colour. The concept is to imagine an alternate Australia, and they are set in the past, present and future. Particularly striking were Claire G. Coleman’s Ostraka, a bleak and totally believable near future, and Ambelin Kwaymullina’s Message from the Ngurra Palya, which reminded me of Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti series; hopeful and helpful. The stories are of racism, climate disaster, pandemic, and totalitarianism, and range in tone, style, and pace. It’s a thought-provoking, and ultimately hopeful collection.
This is a collection of short stories about Geralt of Rivia, a witcher, or killer of monsters. The television series contains many of the stories in this book, and those in The Last Wish. It’s a little bit bawdy, not as graphic as the television series, but it is also moving, as Geralt and Yennefer struggle to live with the cost of their past, and face their destiny. There is plenty of adventure, fun, romance, and soul searching.
I adored Love, Nina, and this is more of the same, only Christmassy. There are autobiographical parts, telling of her aversion to cooking turkeys, the best Christmas music, or how to shop, as well as a few short stories, that might be nostalgic, or dark, but always funny. Nina Stibbe reads the audio version herself, and whether you love, or just endure Christmas, this book is bound to lift your mood.
I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, and found it utterly charming, moving, and thoughtful. Fox 8 is a young fox, who listens in every night as a woman reads to her children, and learns to speak “Yuman”. When developers cut down his wood, Fox 8 comes to know the Yumans much better than he would have liked. It’s a really beautiful story, only short, and great for children, but it has a lot of deep truths for all of us. It’s sad, very funny, and will stay with me.
Friday Black is a series of short stories, some of them connected, that probably fit into the sci-fi/horror genres. Extremely dark, violent, sad and disturbing, I didn’t enjoy them very much, and some I didn’t understand. Some are very thought-provoking, though, on the topics of race, consumerism, and violence.
No doubt about it; Kate Atkinson is one of my very favourite authors. I don’t tend to seek out short stories, but I really enjoyed these. There are twelve stories, recurring characters, and all the strange and wonderful twists and perspectives that I love in Atkinson’s writing. There is the ordinary next to the extraordinary, and lots of raw insights into people’s hearts and motivations. It’s only available at the Riverina Regional Library as an eBook.
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