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susannavs's review against another edition
5.0
This book, and Mantel's style, reminded me a lot of Daphne du Maurier's short stories - they are dark, twisted, and confusing, often with an unexpected ending. But also lyrical.
ruthnessly's review against another edition
1.0
OKAY. I only read this over like 3 days or so, but it felt like a life time.
I'm beginning to think Mantel and I just don't get on. This is the second book I've read of hers and this conclusion is irritating, because I have Wolf Hall in my bedroom to be read but!! Fundamentally, her prose doesn't grip me. I don't care about her characters, in general, and that's one of the most frustrating parts to me.
BUT I have other complaints about this collection. For one, the title alone suggests that the stories will be politicised and tbqh I find it SUPER LAZY that they aren't. Many of these are, in fact, strangely apolitical -- there are some exceptions, obviously, with the actual Assassination of Margaret Thatcher story, the first one and perhaps some hints in others but overall nope. There's a lot of alluding to and playing with the supernatural here but, honestly, it's fucking boring. It's not terribly creative. I didn't see anything new or interesting here. One of my biggest complaints, though, is where is the unifying theme??? HONESTLY. I don't like collections which are random assortments of stories, all shelved together. I don't see any common thread here, uniting everything. There's some tenuous links, but I find the lack of cohesion incredibly frustrating. I've heard people say they're linked by the supernatural, by eeriness, and I guess that could be a link -- EXCEPT not all of them are supernatural so HUGE QUESTION MARK. I also don't agree that Mantel is good with creating suspense and horror (especially here, but that was my opinion of Beyond Black as well).
Reading this was, overall, a really frustrating experience. I wanted to like it so much more than I did. I know the rating is low, but I didn't enjoy this. After a certain point, I was reading because I wanted to know with grim certainty that I was right and that this was terrible.
Of course, there were some stories I liked -- the titular one was pretty good, I liked the story about Morna fading away (warning for eating disorders though!) called The Heart Fails Without Warning. I don't think I minded the story about the author but I forget what it's called and tbh I would rather eat my own fist than go back and find out.
rallyk's review against another edition
4.0
Ревю: https://bloodyrosered.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/purvi-doseg-s-hilari-mantel/
leemac027's review against another edition
4.0
I love the way Hilary Mantel puts words together and each of these short stories draws you in. Every story has excellent characterisation and there are a few surprises, some of which are disturbing.
It is an easy and entertaining collection. I found Winter Break incredibly magnetic in its style with an ending that made me shiver.
The final story is the Assassination of Margaret Thatcher and I particularly liked the way Mantel develops the relationship between the witness and the assassin - fascinating.
It is an easy and entertaining collection. I found Winter Break incredibly magnetic in its style with an ending that made me shiver.
The final story is the Assassination of Margaret Thatcher and I particularly liked the way Mantel develops the relationship between the witness and the assassin - fascinating.
stefanie_ann's review against another edition
5.0
Technical, precise, and sinister stories of adulterers, that weird lady at reception, weary travelers--but with a light touch and a good dose of dark humor. Wonderful.
katdid's review against another edition
3.0
Probably 3.5 stars.
The thing about short story collections is that there's usually a few that soar above the others and maybe a couple of clunkers. I'm only familiar with Mantel's writing from her Cromwell novels (and I mean, c'mon: bar? meet Everest) and that speech about the Royals that erroneously got everyone's knickers in a twist, so it was a novel experience to read her in short-form. My favourites were those stories that were clearly autobiographical, plus Harley Street which really put me in mind of Sarah Waters even before I cottoned on to the subtext.
The thing about short story collections is that there's usually a few that soar above the others and maybe a couple of clunkers. I'm only familiar with Mantel's writing from her Cromwell novels (and I mean, c'mon: bar? meet Everest) and that speech about the Royals that erroneously got everyone's knickers in a twist, so it was a novel experience to read her in short-form. My favourites were those stories that were clearly autobiographical, plus Harley Street which really put me in mind of Sarah Waters even before I cottoned on to the subtext.
kymme's review against another edition
2.0
I love, love, love Mantel’s historical novels, but could not bring myself to care about any of these short stories. Made it a bit over halfway and then realized I was only continuing out of respect for her other books—which wasn’t a good enough reason. Read her novels instead. Five stars, all.
celestialempress's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
4.25
hannahrice's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
beemini's review against another edition
5.0
I was saddened to hear of Mantel's passing the day after I finished this collection of short stories. I've tried and failed to read Wolf Hall, but I had much more success with this collection, which is full of twisted, dark tales and cranky characters. Her writing is perfection, full of understated commentary, such as when describing a shabby part of town: "where the dustbins had wheels but the cars were stacked on bricks." Her view of human nature is as salty as the Dead Sea. A favorite passage: "My mother got the house. She said she would have been loath to leave the garden. He had to pay her maintenance, and she spent some of it on yoga classes. Having been a brittle person, she became flexible. Each day she saluted the sun."