5 GOLD stars
On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member, but I'd already downloaded it anyway.
In a Nutshell: Short stories, dark themes. Mostly.
What a treat this book is. It's not very often that you read a short story collection in which every one is a gem, but such is the case with Moments of Consequence. Every single one is beautifully written and perfectly plotted whilst wending its way down unexpectedly murky corridors. Some bloody ones, too, like the horrific Chef's Special, in which the main character comes up with an ingenious way of dealing with her staff problems, and It Was Late June, an every day story of country folk in a village that just happens to have an active Satanic society. These two are seriously gruesome, dark humour at its best. As is A Midsummer Nightmare, a brutal tale of revenge.
My favourites:
Dare Devil: about three students who, drunkenly, dare each other to commit the perfect murder.
Dances on the Head of a Pin: two time-lines, two main characters. One, in modern times, tries to interview random passersby about transubstantiation. The other, in the perilous days of Bloody Mary Tudor, is condemned for not believing in this (that the communion sacrament is the actual body and blood of Christ).
The Food of Love: a 'foodie' wife, who fails to see the the impact her obsession is having on her marriage...
Away in a Manger: about a homeless young artist, at Christmas time.
Piggy in the Middle: The story of Mary Bennett, the forgotten middle daughter in Pride and Prejudice.
As You Sow: A mother laments the choices her adult children have made, considering them a personal affront. I love stories like this in which the reader can read between the lines about what's actually going on, whereas the blinkered narrator cannot.
...and the last one, Footprints, showing snapshots of everyone who lived in a house, going back down the decades. I too am, as Thorne Moore says, fascinated by houses and the secrets they reveal. Footprints made me think of books by Norah Loft: The House Trilogy, and A Wayside Tavern.
All the stories are long, something to get your teeth into. It's stunningly good, all the way through. Highly, highly recommended - can't emphasise this too much!
My favourites:
Dare Devil: about three students who, drunkenly, dare each other to commit the perfect murder.
Dances on the Head of a Pin: two time-lines, two main characters. One, in modern times, tries to interview random passersby about transubstantiation. The other, in the perilous days of Bloody Mary Tudor, is condemned for not believing in this (that the communion sacrament is the actual body and blood of Christ).
The Food of Love: a 'foodie' wife, who fails to see the the impact her obsession is having on her marriage...
Away in a Manger: about a homeless young artist, at Christmas time.
Piggy in the Middle: The story of Mary Bennett, the forgotten middle daughter in Pride and Prejudice.
As You Sow: A mother laments the choices her adult children have made, considering them a personal affront. I love stories like this in which the reader can read between the lines about what's actually going on, whereas the blinkered narrator cannot.
...and the last one, Footprints, showing snapshots of everyone who lived in a house, going back down the decades. I too am, as Thorne Moore says, fascinated by houses and the secrets they reveal. Footprints made me think of books by Norah Loft: The House Trilogy, and A Wayside Tavern.
All the stories are long, something to get your teeth into. It's stunningly good, all the way through. Highly, highly recommended - can't emphasise this too much!
Thank you Terry.
ReplyDeleteThorne here (it won't let me sign in). Thanks so much for this.
ReplyDeleteAye, it won't let me, either!!! You are more than welcome - the ones mentioned, in particular, I am sure I will read again!
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