Souvenirs from Kyiv is a collection of short stories, each capable of standing alone but taken together they give the reader some understanding of the harrowing experiences of the Ukrainian people during World War 2. The stories are arranged chronologically from 1942 to the war’s end, moving geographically around Ukraine beginning in Kyiv and then … Continue reading Book Review – Souvenirs from Kyiv by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger
Short stories
Book Review – A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan
A Slanting of the Sun is Donal Ryan's first collection of short stories. It is written in the same beautifully crafted poetic and uniquely Irish prose as his novels. All but one of the twenty stories are told in the first person, each with a distinctive voice. The characters cover a range of ages, sex … Continue reading Book Review – A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan
One Minute Book Review – All That Man Is by David Szalay
Another from the Man Booker shortlist 2016. Each of the nine chapters in this book, which is essentially a collection of short stories, deals with a man at a different stage in his life. It begins with a 17 year student and ends with a 73 year old retired civil servant. The men are are … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – All That Man Is by David Szalay
One Minute Book review – The Bodysurfers by Robert Drewe
This collection of short stories by Robert Drewe is set mainly in coastal Australia. The stories are interlinked and follow the lives of various members of the Lang family and capture both the light and darkness of the sea and the bush, places where appearances often belie what is happening beneath the surface. Drewe's prose … Continue reading One Minute Book review – The Bodysurfers by Robert Drewe
Slipper
Look at her now and you would think she was born to it but I know the truth, I was closer to her than any of them. Forced to act the scullery maid. Never! It was her protest at her father’s remarriage. All a martyr act. She could have eaten at the table, worn silks … Continue reading Slipper
Through a glass, darkly…
The day it started I was on my way to work. The sun streamed through the windows, great sheets of warmth. The daffodils were out, the prunus in full blossom – a beautiful late winter’s day. Lost in daydreams, I would have missed my stop but the tram jolted. I jumped up and rushed to … Continue reading Through a glass, darkly…
Appearances
Lisa stopped her scrubbing, her head cocked, straining to hear. Her heart thumped. She stood up slowly, fighting the urge to run, and wiped her hands down the sides of her trousers. She walked from the room, along the passage and out onto the front verandah. She stood, her back against the wall, and took … Continue reading Appearances
Seals
Seal, n. A member of the family Phocidae, sub-order Pinnipedia. An aquatic carnivorous mammal with limbs developed into flippers and adapted for swimming, and having an elongated body covered with thick fur or bristles and terminated by a short tail. The seal figures in the mythology of many ancient peoples. The town of Yuille sat … Continue reading Seals
The wood
Helen kicked off her shoes as soon as she came through the door, dumping the plastic shopping bags on the floor. All idea of a quiet cup of tea, of time, space to herself, evaporated with the sight of the kitchen table strewn with nut, bolts, small dials, pieces of metal and wood. ‘Can’t you … Continue reading The wood
Catherine Meyrick 