Scan barcode
leemac027's review
4.0
This is a wonderful collection of 21 short stories from Amanda O'Callaghan.
Amanda is a very visual and descriptive writer with her stories conjuring up so many vivid images. Each story, some only one page in length, will take you on a journey, often emotional. The way she uses language is delightful including phrases like "He savoured the idea of Mikey alone like a lozenge in his mouth" and "He thought of the scratch of Walter's fountain pen, the erratic slips in the ink, evident even then. Tiny lightning bolts of ruin".
Every word is carefully used, there is no superfluous verbage here. Each story is so thoughtfully crafted, each character cleverly developed.
Really enjoyed reading and taking in this author's craft.
Amanda is a very visual and descriptive writer with her stories conjuring up so many vivid images. Each story, some only one page in length, will take you on a journey, often emotional. The way she uses language is delightful including phrases like "He savoured the idea of Mikey alone like a lozenge in his mouth" and "He thought of the scratch of Walter's fountain pen, the erratic slips in the ink, evident even then. Tiny lightning bolts of ruin".
Every word is carefully used, there is no superfluous verbage here. Each story is so thoughtfully crafted, each character cleverly developed.
Really enjoyed reading and taking in this author's craft.
jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review
4.0
I’m continuing to make my way through the @readingsbooks Prize for New Australian Fiction, and last week read a few stories each day from THE TASTE FOR SILENCE by Amanda O’Callaghan (@uqpbooks #partner).
.
If you like your short stories to be dark and psychological, and for the collection to speak to a central theme, this is for you. These stories, which varied in length from flash fiction to more lengthy pieces, all focus on various depictions of the unspoken and moments of disclosure among the characters. I liked that they were quite snapshot in style, written to share fragments of a life of experience, and which left the reader a little in the dark or with a more explosive ending to ponder. O’Callaghan’s prose was gorgeous, there were some turns of phrase that particularly struck me including describe the Sydney Opera House as a “bony husk” or carpet tacks as “indignant gremlins.” So superb. Structurally, these stories worked collectively to speak to the themes rather than being particularly memorable in their own right with the exception of two that stood out for me, Thirty Years and New Skins. I didn’t find the flash fiction worked particularly well for me, though I do appreciate that this may be my own reading preferences.
.
Definitely a strong contender for the #ReadingsPrize, but I’ll check in after I’ve read my final two titles of the shortlist! special thanks to @savidgereads for connecting with @uqpbooks to get this to me in Houston!
.
.
.
#amandaocallaghan #thistasteforsilence #auslit #aussielit #shortstories #shortsinseptember #shortsseptember
.
If you like your short stories to be dark and psychological, and for the collection to speak to a central theme, this is for you. These stories, which varied in length from flash fiction to more lengthy pieces, all focus on various depictions of the unspoken and moments of disclosure among the characters. I liked that they were quite snapshot in style, written to share fragments of a life of experience, and which left the reader a little in the dark or with a more explosive ending to ponder. O’Callaghan’s prose was gorgeous, there were some turns of phrase that particularly struck me including describe the Sydney Opera House as a “bony husk” or carpet tacks as “indignant gremlins.” So superb. Structurally, these stories worked collectively to speak to the themes rather than being particularly memorable in their own right with the exception of two that stood out for me, Thirty Years and New Skins. I didn’t find the flash fiction worked particularly well for me, though I do appreciate that this may be my own reading preferences.
.
Definitely a strong contender for the #ReadingsPrize, but I’ll check in after I’ve read my final two titles of the shortlist! special thanks to @savidgereads for connecting with @uqpbooks to get this to me in Houston!
.
.
.
#amandaocallaghan #thistasteforsilence #auslit #aussielit #shortstories #shortsinseptember #shortsseptember
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
5.0
‘I think there’s a time, in all bad things, when you wonder how it came to this.’
Two hundred and eight pages, twenty-one short stories. The stories range in length from (just under) one page, to forty pages. These concrete metrics provide physical parameters … but tell you nothing about the characters which each story brings to life.
This is a debut collection of short stories, covering several different life situations, situations about which (and sometimes within which) silence is considered appropriate. The stories include experiences of illness and bereavement, betrayal, disappearance, vulnerability. Some experiences we don’t talk about, others we hope to avoid. Look closely, the stories seem to be saying to the reader, look beyond what is obvious, move beyond observation into sensation. How does it feel? What happens next?
Each of these stories had an impact, some more than others. My favourite is ‘Things’, about a woman whose hoarding seems (to me) to be both a way of holding onto the past while denying the possibility of a different future. And in the present, where we find her, is an outsider looking in seeing what?
I finished each story, wondering what came before and what might happen next. Each story is self-contained, but it need not remain so.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Two hundred and eight pages, twenty-one short stories. The stories range in length from (just under) one page, to forty pages. These concrete metrics provide physical parameters … but tell you nothing about the characters which each story brings to life.
This is a debut collection of short stories, covering several different life situations, situations about which (and sometimes within which) silence is considered appropriate. The stories include experiences of illness and bereavement, betrayal, disappearance, vulnerability. Some experiences we don’t talk about, others we hope to avoid. Look closely, the stories seem to be saying to the reader, look beyond what is obvious, move beyond observation into sensation. How does it feel? What happens next?
Each of these stories had an impact, some more than others. My favourite is ‘Things’, about a woman whose hoarding seems (to me) to be both a way of holding onto the past while denying the possibility of a different future. And in the present, where we find her, is an outsider looking in seeing what?
I finished each story, wondering what came before and what might happen next. Each story is self-contained, but it need not remain so.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
gemmahenrynovels's review
5.0
A collection of Gothic, melancholy filled short stories which were beautifully written.
renepierre's review
4.0
I’ve always said that I’m not a short story person. Turns out all I needed were good short stories? I read this collection in two sittings, the stories (although linked in theme) are all so different and interesting. Amanda has a really interesting way of revealing information and letting you guess for a while in her stories. I will say that some of the shorter stories went over my head a bit but the ones I enjoyed (which were most) made up for it.
susannes_pagesofcrime's review
4.0
This is an excellent collection of short stories. They are quite understated but are all the more powerful for it. I thought that I would prefer the shorter flash fiction stories over the longer ones but it is the other way around, the longer ones were so well developed they really stand out. I will certainly be reading any future work published by Amanda O'Callaghan.
traceythompson's review
4.0
4.5 stars
I loved this book! It made me appreciate micro-fiction! I'd foolishly dismissed it before, but if a writer can engage/devastate me in a few paragraphs, that's a real talent.
Stand-out stories:
The News - This was wonderful. Very strong visuals, incredibly effective. Brief story about a piece of news flying into a party for a specific woman. Doesn't state what the news is, but it doesn't matter. Loved it.
Things - When I woke up the day after reading this, I'd forgotten what this story was about. So when I re-read the first line again, I gasped, as it all came back. This was super good. Female hoarder (but that only becomes apparent in seeds throughout the story). Makes friends with a male neighbor.
Legacy - I read this one twice, because I was tired the first time I read it. Glad I did, because this was amazing. A teacher dying of cancer, two brothers, a cliff. Quite horror.
New Skins - Loved this one. A young boy, an absent mother, neighbors with a dog, a mysterious death by drowning. Beautiful.
The Memory Bones - This was a longer one, so I could really get my teeth in. Young girl, memories of an aborted swimming trip with her grandma. Grandma now has dementia. Shares a disturbing memory of why she fled the water. Really fucking good.
The Painting - Thanks to Roald Dahl, I have a fear of being trapped in a painting. Or having people appear in paintings that had not previously been there. So this story terrified me. It's about a haunted painting. Just read it, it's great.
I loved this book! It made me appreciate micro-fiction! I'd foolishly dismissed it before, but if a writer can engage/devastate me in a few paragraphs, that's a real talent.
Stand-out stories:
The News - This was wonderful. Very strong visuals, incredibly effective. Brief story about a piece of news flying into a party for a specific woman. Doesn't state what the news is, but it doesn't matter. Loved it.
Things - When I woke up the day after reading this, I'd forgotten what this story was about. So when I re-read the first line again, I gasped, as it all came back. This was super good. Female hoarder (but that only becomes apparent in seeds throughout the story). Makes friends with a male neighbor.
Legacy - I read this one twice, because I was tired the first time I read it. Glad I did, because this was amazing. A teacher dying of cancer, two brothers, a cliff. Quite horror.
New Skins - Loved this one. A young boy, an absent mother, neighbors with a dog, a mysterious death by drowning. Beautiful.
The Memory Bones - This was a longer one, so I could really get my teeth in. Young girl, memories of an aborted swimming trip with her grandma. Grandma now has dementia. Shares a disturbing memory of why she fled the water. Really fucking good.
The Painting - Thanks to Roald Dahl, I have a fear of being trapped in a painting. Or having people appear in paintings that had not previously been there. So this story terrified me. It's about a haunted painting. Just read it, it's great.
eitheror's review
3.0
Another uni read.
Although well constructed and very good unifying tone, the genre of the stories wasn’t always for me. My favourite story was probably “Things.”
Although well constructed and very good unifying tone, the genre of the stories wasn’t always for me. My favourite story was probably “Things.”
keepreadingbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This collection is a mix of short stories of traditional length and flash fiction stories. I am pretty green when it comes to flash fiction, but apparently I dig it! The very short stories (one or two pages at the most) managed to touch me to an even greater extent than some of the longer ones. To do that, the author really has to distil the most crucial elements of what they want to tell and choose his or her words very carefully, and that made me not only marvel at O’Callaghan’s skill but also made me reconsider what makes a story.
Most of the stories have a feeling of anticipation and tension. Of dread, or dread-to-come. You’re waiting for something to happen. Most of the stories involve a death of some kind too – either murder-, illness-, or suicide-related – sometimes happening during the story, sometimes way in the past. Nothing graphic, but more as an event that reveals a character’s… well, character.
The writing is good with snippets of real brilliance. It becomes sharper, somehow, in the flash fiction stories, and I really think O’Callaghan is at her strongest in those. It’s not a new favourite, but it’s a solid collection that I’d definitely recommend if you like your stories a little unsettling and haunting.