A Review By Keith Smith

A wonderful collection of stories from the much-loved Salley Vickers. The stories in this long-awaited collection by Salley Vickers all deal with psychological aspects of love: love given and withheld, love craved and lost, love met and disappointed; the differing shades of loves between friends, between parents and children, between children and other adults; love even, in one case, for a pet. Psychologically acute, sharply written in lucid and often witty prose, these stories, set in Venice, Greece and Rome as well as London and the English countryside, take us into the complex geography of the human heart.

Sometimes joyous and humorous, sometimes melancholy and poignant, this collection confirms Salley Vickers’ reputation as one of our most subtle and engaging writers.

I don’t usually like short stories. They seem to lack depth and leave you feeling somewhat dissatisfied. These ones don’t. They are very very good. Salley is an excellent writer, and manages to convey impressive characterisation with a great feeling for location and all with a good story, often with a twist. you feel real empathy with some of the people she parades before us….there but for the grace of god.

Seventeen short stories in all and only one I couldn’t get on with. I particularly liked ‘The Green Bus From St Ives’ with its life-changing intertwining of the lives of two lonely characters. ‘Mrs Radinsky’ was very amusing with the residents of a block of flats getting their knickers in a twist over the (misunderstood) private life of the old lady in the upper flat. ‘Nightmare’ again was a bitter-sweet commentary on how being over-protective to our children can have nasty consequences. Which leads me to say I suppose all of the stories have a moral or a message. And when there is so much trash about these days, one can only applaud when it is well-done. Anyway highly-recommended and signed copies available after our very successful event with Salley the other night…….