Tessa Hadley's latest book is a collection of ten short stories. Four are set in the present day, one is set in Edwardian England and the remainder are set in the 1950's and 1960's.
They aren't connected to each other at all (although Bad Dreams and One Saturday Morning feature the same family and central character, a child called Clare).
Most of these stories offer a tantalizing glimpse into the domestic circumstances of a character and their families. Many of them feature characters who are dealing with things, or who find themselves in situations, that are out of their comfort zones or realms of experience. Most of the stories are left somewhat open ended.
I must confess that short stories aren't my favourite type of fiction as a rule but these stories were so well handled that I enjoyed them all immensely. Tessa Hadley is one of my favourite writers, her characters are highly believable and she is brilliant at including small everyday details in her writing that help set the scene and make it seem all that more real. She is such a skilled wordsmith, her prose and choice of language is a delight and these stories were crafted in such a way that there was an air of suspense that held my imagination and made me want to carry on reading.
Honestly, if all short stories were this good they would be one of my favourite forms of fiction!
Recommended.
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