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ljbentley27's review
3.0
As a child, every Saturday my mum took me and my big sister to a sports centre that hosted a roller disco. It lasted about an hour and a half and played 80s tracks that were in heavy rotation – if memory serves, my favourite one to skate to was Cocoon by Timerider most famous for being the theme tune to Hit Man and Her. Skating reminds me of freedom, of the feeling that I could fly and since then I have wanted to be a member of a Roller Derby team. Alas, I bruise like a peach so I don’t think it is the sport for me but if I was going to be a member of any sporting team it would be, without a shadow of a doubt, a Roller Girl.
It is probably this weird fascination with a sport I cannot play that led me to buying Derby Shorts. It is a quirky collection of stories that all have one thing in common. At the core of each story is a celebration of roller skating.
I read a lot of books of short stories and you usually get a small handful of ones you enjoy next to a bunch of fillers. I genuinely didn’t feel that way about this collection. Every story is enjoyable. The genres range from historical fiction to crime to sci-fi. No one has interpreted the spirit of the sport in the same way. It truly is wonderful.
Derby Shorts by Jane Bradley is available now.
It is probably this weird fascination with a sport I cannot play that led me to buying Derby Shorts. It is a quirky collection of stories that all have one thing in common. At the core of each story is a celebration of roller skating.
I read a lot of books of short stories and you usually get a small handful of ones you enjoy next to a bunch of fillers. I genuinely didn’t feel that way about this collection. Every story is enjoyable. The genres range from historical fiction to crime to sci-fi. No one has interpreted the spirit of the sport in the same way. It truly is wonderful.
Derby Shorts by Jane Bradley is available now.
helensbookshelf's review
3.0
This is a little book full of short stories set in the world of Roller Derby. It's produced in collaboration with London Roller Girls and the publisher, For Books Sake, is a company that champions women writers.
I expected these stories to be about Roller Derby but mostly they're not, really. They use Roller Derby as a setting but a lot of them are more about people and relationships.
There's a mix of styles, with a post-apocalyptic Mad Max type story my favourite, one that's a Sherlock Holmes influenced detective story, a Victorian 'origins of Roller Derby' tale and a few modern tales about friendship, love, jealousy and break ups.
My favourites include the super fierce post-apocalyptic story and a quite sweet one about two teenage sisters playing in a junior Roller Derby league. Though I liked some more than others they are all well written and there wasn't any that I didn't enjoy.
I don't think you'd need to know how Roller Derby works before reading, there is a glossary in the back, and a lot of the stories have descriptions - especially the first story which is about a group of Victorian debutantes taking up roller skating and finding a way to express their aggressive sides.
I recommend this for anyone that plays or is interested in Roller Derby, or who just wants to read some short stories that are as bold and brilliant as the description on the back claims.
I expected these stories to be about Roller Derby but mostly they're not, really. They use Roller Derby as a setting but a lot of them are more about people and relationships.
There's a mix of styles, with a post-apocalyptic Mad Max type story my favourite, one that's a Sherlock Holmes influenced detective story, a Victorian 'origins of Roller Derby' tale and a few modern tales about friendship, love, jealousy and break ups.
My favourites include the super fierce post-apocalyptic story and a quite sweet one about two teenage sisters playing in a junior Roller Derby league. Though I liked some more than others they are all well written and there wasn't any that I didn't enjoy.
I don't think you'd need to know how Roller Derby works before reading, there is a glossary in the back, and a lot of the stories have descriptions - especially the first story which is about a group of Victorian debutantes taking up roller skating and finding a way to express their aggressive sides.
I recommend this for anyone that plays or is interested in Roller Derby, or who just wants to read some short stories that are as bold and brilliant as the description on the back claims.
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