Short story collections usually mean hits and misses – it’s rare that I rave about a whole collection (the last time was here). Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny is absolutely worth raving about.

There are eleven stories in the collection, all focused on the theme of love, and the various forms it takes – friendships, ex-husbands, parents and children, and ill-advised trysts. And all eleven stories are funny. Not necessarily laugh-out-loud funny (although I did) but the wry smile kind of funny. Deadpan funny. And I felt like the humour was just for me because everything Heiny writes about peri menopause, parenting teenagers, bridesmaids’ dresses, dealing with ageing parents and the little stuff that I lose my shit over, was exactly right. Continue reading →