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windhover's review against another edition
2.0
These stories had a consistent structure. A British person of middle age is engaged in a mundane activity of clear duration, like an acupuncture session, subway ride, or book club night. They reflect on their life and their experience of aging. Maybe they rehash some arguments about politics or their marriage or their job. Eventually, the activity, the reflection, and the story comes to an end.
It's not a bad structure. The progress of the background activity lends a sense of movement and pacing to the story which I appreciate in a genre that is light on plot. That being said, most of these stories don't land for me. Not only are the settings mundane but the inner lives of these characters are banal. The stories are not flattering to their subjects, but if there are more nuanced themes than "misogyny is pervasive and bad" or "lawyers can be self-important workaholics" they are too subtle for me.
I don't want to write this off entirely. The writing was never objectionably bad for my taste; the style consistent and unobtrusive. Perhaps if I were myself in an English woman in my 50's of middle to upper income like most of the subjects of these stories, I'd find it easier to access what is good here. I did find myself wishing I had checked out a different short story collection.
It's not a bad structure. The progress of the background activity lends a sense of movement and pacing to the story which I appreciate in a genre that is light on plot. That being said, most of these stories don't land for me. Not only are the settings mundane but the inner lives of these characters are banal. The stories are not flattering to their subjects, but if there are more nuanced themes than "misogyny is pervasive and bad" or "lawyers can be self-important workaholics" they are too subtle for me.
I don't want to write this off entirely. The writing was never objectionably bad for my taste; the style consistent and unobtrusive. Perhaps if I were myself in an English woman in my 50's of middle to upper income like most of the subjects of these stories, I'd find it easier to access what is good here. I did find myself wishing I had checked out a different short story collection.
jenniferbirtles's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wendoxford's review
5.0
Helen Simpson (along with Jackie Kay) seem to set the bar for short story writing. I scampered through this collection...Just love her perspective, writing, nuance, sense of irony and humour..Don't want to spoil my describing the stories but a fabulous collection.
tpanik's review
4.0
A strong collection of stories; Erewhon and Arizona were my favorites, as they addressed traditional gender roles the most. Simpson is a great writer.
emmatdr's review against another edition
2.0
Don’t buy a book because the name is funny.
I found this incredibly dull. Maybe I’ll read it again when I’m 60- seeing as that is the point of it, navel gazing middle class 60 year olds with very few problems not of their own making. Like Dawson’s creek for the recently silver. Give me a break.
I found this incredibly dull. Maybe I’ll read it again when I’m 60- seeing as that is the point of it, navel gazing middle class 60 year olds with very few problems not of their own making. Like Dawson’s creek for the recently silver. Give me a break.
ohsoreads's review
5.0
This is my second short stories book & it’s fantastic. I loved the concept of conversations amongst regular people. Funnily, cockfosters and my favourite chapter! But I do love all the stories individually. It felt personal & it was comforting to read about what these people had to go through. I could understand some of the struggles that the characters face & was able to read about the struggles that older women face as well.
adriannepeterson's review
4.0
Well crafted short stories. Oftentimes I feel short story collections require review at a level more sophisticated than I am comfortable providing - makes me feel presumptuous. I appreciate Simpson's skewering of the book club Kentish Town. On the other hand, I know there are deeper digs going on in the story, but I'm not familiar enough with all of the literary references in the story to get them - is that the point? Is the dig on me, the reader, and me, the book club participant? Do read Erewhon (see Wikipedia reference, below), wherein this society the husband is the long-suffering second class citizen trying to hold it all together with work, kids and catering to an oblivious spouse. Do women sound that whiny? Why do we put up with ourselves and our partners if things are that bad? Are all aspects ridiculous? Am I just in a pissy mood? LOL.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erewhon
Erewhon: or, Over the Range /ɛ.rɛ.hwɒn/[1] is a novel by Samuel Butler which was first published anonymously in 1872.[2] The title is also the name of a country, supposedly discovered by the protagonist. In the novel, it is not revealed where Erewhon is, but it is clear that it is a fictional country. Butler meant the title to be read as "nowhere" backwards even though the letters "h" and "w" are transposed, as it would have been pronounced in his day (and still is in some dialects of English). The book is a satire on Victorian society.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erewhon
Erewhon: or, Over the Range /ɛ.rɛ.hwɒn/[1] is a novel by Samuel Butler which was first published anonymously in 1872.[2] The title is also the name of a country, supposedly discovered by the protagonist. In the novel, it is not revealed where Erewhon is, but it is clear that it is a fictional country. Butler meant the title to be read as "nowhere" backwards even though the letters "h" and "w" are transposed, as it would have been pronounced in his day (and still is in some dialects of English). The book is a satire on Victorian society.[3]
keepreadingbooks's review
2.0
I don’t have much to say about this one. I didn’t dislike it as such, but I didn’t love it either. It was a comfortable read, much more so than the short story collections I usually read, and rather cosy in some respects, but most of the time I found it slightly boring. It didn’t challenge me in the least, and it wasn’t cosy enough to make me revel in that aspect either. It didn’t feel like the stories aimed to achieve anything or provoke any feelings in the reader – they just were. Not the best note to end my year on, but at least it was an easy, short read.
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