Scan barcode
numbat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The collection is eclectic. It ranges in subject from the existential to the political but always has a bit of a sinister edge.
bluestarfish's review against another edition
4.0
This is a collection of short stories from over a number of years. I liked the first one in the collection the best, Sorry to Disturb, but there is a lot to enjoy in Hilary Mantel's style and wit and general ability to make things really atmospheric/creepy...
jacki_f's review against another edition
3.0
This is a collection of ten short stories written by Hilary Mantel between 1993-2014. They have all been previously published in newspapers or magazines and some have appeared in short story collections. They are extremely diverse in setting and nature. All but two are written in the first person and most (but not all) centre on women.
I should preface this review by saying that I have an inherent prejudice against short stories. Reading them always feels to me like speed dating - you put all this effort into wrapping your head around someone new and then they are yanked away from you and you have to do it all over again. They also highlight - to me - what a lazy reader I am. I kept finishing a story, realising that I simply hadn't been paying enough attention and having to backtrack to look for the clue about what was going to happen.
What I did like, very much, about this collection is the wonderfully descriptive way that Mantel immerses you wherever she wants you. There is one story about a writer arriving at an unpleasant hotel late at night and you can just feel how sordid and grubby the rooms are. Another story, Comma, is about two girls who roam the countryside around their homes and spy on their neighbours and once again you absolutely feel the heat, the tickly grass, hear flies buzzing lazily past. The Margaret Thatcher story is set in a genteel street in Windsor and I could see it in my mind, so beautifully was it described to me.
However to me this book felt like a triumph of style over substance. Again and again - ref description of myself above as a lazy reader and take note - unreliable narrator here! - I would finish a story and go "huh". Either "huh, didn't get it" or "huh, was that it? " There were a couple of exceptions - oddly enough, generally the shortest in the book - but for the most part they felt like slices of lives that went nowhere. And I kept wondering "what was the point of that story?".
Smarter and more intellectual people than me have raved about this collection, and I am sure that they are quite correct and the failing is mine. Speed dating is clearly not my thing.
I should preface this review by saying that I have an inherent prejudice against short stories. Reading them always feels to me like speed dating - you put all this effort into wrapping your head around someone new and then they are yanked away from you and you have to do it all over again. They also highlight - to me - what a lazy reader I am. I kept finishing a story, realising that I simply hadn't been paying enough attention and having to backtrack to look for the clue about what was going to happen.
What I did like, very much, about this collection is the wonderfully descriptive way that Mantel immerses you wherever she wants you. There is one story about a writer arriving at an unpleasant hotel late at night and you can just feel how sordid and grubby the rooms are. Another story, Comma, is about two girls who roam the countryside around their homes and spy on their neighbours and once again you absolutely feel the heat, the tickly grass, hear flies buzzing lazily past. The Margaret Thatcher story is set in a genteel street in Windsor and I could see it in my mind, so beautifully was it described to me.
However to me this book felt like a triumph of style over substance. Again and again - ref description of myself above as a lazy reader and take note - unreliable narrator here! - I would finish a story and go "huh". Either "huh, didn't get it" or "huh, was that it? " There were a couple of exceptions - oddly enough, generally the shortest in the book - but for the most part they felt like slices of lives that went nowhere. And I kept wondering "what was the point of that story?".
Smarter and more intellectual people than me have raved about this collection, and I am sure that they are quite correct and the failing is mine. Speed dating is clearly not my thing.
maevejreilly's review against another edition
5.0
I think I loved just about every story in this book. And so different from Wolf Hall!
essjay1's review against another edition
3.0
A mixed bag, my favourites Comma, The Long QT & Winter Break - all short and dark. I read this over a six month period, dipping in when I just had time for a quick read.
jennagrace_m's review against another edition
3.0
Well written and enjoyable to read, however I felt like nearly every story in this collection ended abruptly right when it really started to get going. I was also craving for these stories to have some sort of deeper meaning or impact me more, but mostly they're just weird little stories that don't really scratch any further than the surface level.
booksnpunks's review against another edition
2.0
This was a good book. The reason I gave this two stars was because I personally don't enjoy reading short story collections. I find that because they are shorter than novellas they fail to hold my attention long enough for me to really get into them, and the only one I really have ever liked a lot is Salinger's Nine Stories for obvious reasons. I'm aware that this collection was very good though, the stories were written superbly and had some great themes, but I just can't read short stories in this way. I just hope that when I study it in the autumn I will come to enjoy it more and change my rating. Mantel, it's not you, it's me.
jessicarc88's review against another edition
3.0
I think there's a good chance that I'm not really one for short stories. Here's the thing: Mantel's stories were interesting. But they were brief glimpses into the lives of different people. You didn't really get to know them. I think I need the plot development. But, Mantel's characters were interesting; their situations unique. Every story seemed to cover a person when they were not at their best: a father leaving his family for his secretary, a man being caught cheating on his wife, a woman leaving a crippled girl in a creepy hotel, a couple fighting over having children, a hostage watching an assassination attempt, a family dealing with an eating disorder. But with such brief glimpses it really is hard to remember at the end of the collection what it was that you just read and learned.
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.