Tag Archives: short story

Single, Carefree, Mellow by Katherine Heiny

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I enjoy Katherine Heiny’s writing. She makes me laugh and I’m quite okay with the odd boundary that she pushes. Her novels are terrific but I reckon it’s in short stories where she really shines – there’s no overdoing the joke, it’s all punch-and-to-the-point. Single, Carefree, Mellow met my expectations.

Single, Carefree, Mellow is an even collection of eleven stories. The style is consistent and you very much know you’re reading Heiny. The stories are about adult women and their (difficult) relationships, with themes focused on fidelity, manners and sex. Continue reading →

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld

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Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld was probably one of my most anticipated books of 2025 (I rarely pre-order but this one, I did). I was excited because her last short story collection, You Think It, I’ll Say It was exceptionally good (subtext – Show had a lot to live up to…).

There are twelve stories in the collection – very much character-driven (don’t wait for plot twists), with the focus on the inner lives of middle aged women.

From time to time, Janie wonders if David is having an affair. Because of how rigidly he sees things, she doubts it, but if he is, she’s not sure she can summon the requisite outrage, nor, really, can she identify with the impulse. Continue reading →

Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan

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After a disappointing start to #ShortStorySeptember, I’ve corrected things with Claire Keegan’s supberb collection, Walk the Blue Fields.

This is Keegan on fine and familiar ground – stories about the loner in the village, tortured priests, isolated women, Irish folklore – all told with a little barb. So clever. Continue reading →

Grand Union by Zadie Smith

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When I started scouting my TBR stack for #ShortStorySeptember books, I happened across Zadie Smith’s Grand Union and couldn’t remember how it had even come into my possession. To be honest, I’ve been a bit off Smith after finding Swing Time so-so, and abandoning The Fraud.

Mystery solved when I opened the book – it’s a personally signed copy, that I acquired at an incredible literary event in 2019, Broadside (among others I saw over the two days were Curtis Sittenfeld, Ariel Levy, Helen Garner and Monica Lewinsky). Clearly when I had the book signed I was totally loving Smith… which makes this review a little rude… Continue reading →

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July

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I’m having a Miranda July overload! (Happily, it’s a good place to be). Mini-golf, #6degrees, movies, books…

Last night I saw her 2020 movie, Kajillionaire, and also finished one of her short story collections, No One Belongs Here More Than You, published in 2007. My thoughts are more Miranda-July-in-general rather than specific to this short story collection. Continue reading →

Drawing a line under 2023 reviews

Posted by Kate W in Fiction, Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m loathe to do another bunch of short reviews, particularly as I have lots to say about some of these books (and a squillion quotes highlighted) but I also know that I’m unlikely to find the time required, so… Continue reading →