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jacki_f's review
3.0
If you've enjoyed any of William Boyd's books, there is something for you in this short story collection. Among them are a jaded older man reminiscing, a young woman with artistic sensibilities trying to find herself, a story set in Africa, a man trying to outwit his pursuers in Scotland. Different stories reminded me of different books that he has written. There were elements of Brazzaville Beach, Ordinary Thunderstorms, Sweet Caress and Restless, among others. It's a disparate collection, bucking the trend for short stories to be linked in some way.
The first section consists of seven short stories, mostly very pleasing but not terribly memorable. Boyd has a gift for putting you inside the main character's head very quickly - I find with his writing that I often remember the characters, but struggle to remember the plots.
I read this on an ereader so it's difficult to be sure, but it felt like the titular "Dreams of Bethany Mellmouth" takes up about half (the middle section) of this book. More a novella than a short story, it's about a young woman who reinvents herself with each new boyfriend that she acquires.
The final story is the most enjoyable and is highly reminiscent of "The 39 steps", a book that Boyd has often cited as a favourite and as his inspiration for Ordinary Thunderstorms. It's about an actor who is making a delivery to remote Scotland, but finds himself on the run from mysterious pursuers. I have to say that it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's totally gripping and thoroughly enjoyable: worth the price of entry in its own right.
The first section consists of seven short stories, mostly very pleasing but not terribly memorable. Boyd has a gift for putting you inside the main character's head very quickly - I find with his writing that I often remember the characters, but struggle to remember the plots.
I read this on an ereader so it's difficult to be sure, but it felt like the titular "Dreams of Bethany Mellmouth" takes up about half (the middle section) of this book. More a novella than a short story, it's about a young woman who reinvents herself with each new boyfriend that she acquires.
The final story is the most enjoyable and is highly reminiscent of "The 39 steps", a book that Boyd has often cited as a favourite and as his inspiration for Ordinary Thunderstorms. It's about an actor who is making a delivery to remote Scotland, but finds himself on the run from mysterious pursuers. I have to say that it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's totally gripping and thoroughly enjoyable: worth the price of entry in its own right.
jmatkinson1's review
4.0
Bethany Mellmoth is drifter in life, she has short term affairs with unsuitable men and flirts with the idea of being an actress but has to get bailed out by her mother each time. Alec Dunbar is an unsuccessful actor inveigled into transporting something to the north of Scotland but which turns into a frightening adventure. Yves is an author who takes his revenge on a cruel reviewer. An art dealer is caught out by his numerous affairs. in a series of short and longer stories Boyd explores different aspects of life an love.
I am not a big fan of short stories but I am a fan of William Boyd so I interested to read this latest offering. In fact I was pleasantly surprised, some stories were excellent, some less so but the ones that were less successful were easily finished. The longer episodes about Bethany Mellmoth were actually better left as stories and not developed into a novel, in the same way that Bethany never developed her novel. She reminded me of so many girls who come from a relatively well-off background and so can afford to flirt with careers for years without ever settling down. I found the 'Boys Own Adventure' involving Alec Dunbar as silly as could be but I skipped through it happily. All in all, a mixed bag of tales but at their best they are superb. I wonder if this were a few musings that Boyd had made as potentially being good enough to develop into novels but enjoyed nevertheless.
I am not a big fan of short stories but I am a fan of William Boyd so I interested to read this latest offering. In fact I was pleasantly surprised, some stories were excellent, some less so but the ones that were less successful were easily finished. The longer episodes about Bethany Mellmoth were actually better left as stories and not developed into a novel, in the same way that Bethany never developed her novel. She reminded me of so many girls who come from a relatively well-off background and so can afford to flirt with careers for years without ever settling down. I found the 'Boys Own Adventure' involving Alec Dunbar as silly as could be but I skipped through it happily. All in all, a mixed bag of tales but at their best they are superb. I wonder if this were a few musings that Boyd had made as potentially being good enough to develop into novels but enjoyed nevertheless.
fictionfan's review against another edition
4.0
Light entertainment...
William Boyd is one of my long-time favourite authors. Although I've always found him a bit hit or miss, when he's on form he's one of the best. As a novelist he tends to write long books, full of layers and depth and detail, and with wonderful characterisation. But I've never come across any short stories by him before, so was intrigued to see how his style would work in that form.
The stories in this collection are largely unconnected, though many of them have a common theme of artists who have experienced some form of failure in their professional or personal lives. To some degree, they're mainly character studies, though each has a plot. They vary in length from quite short up to novella length and, for me, the longer they were, the better they were, so I guess that answers my question about his style suiting the format. There's a lot of humour in them, some of it mildly black, and truthfully, not much depth. I found them enjoyable enough to read but rather disappointingly light – although I'm sure my disappointment is mainly a result of my expectations of him based on his novels.
However, the characterisation is great. Even in the shorter ones, he creates fully formed individuals, with enough background for each to explain why they are as they are. He also shows a lot of originality in both subject matter and structure – everything from a UN soldier in the Congo to an out-of-work actor carrying a mysterious substance on a trip to Scotland, and from a love story told backwards to a series of unsent letters.
So in conclusion, for me, the collection doesn't have the depth that makes his novels stand out from the crowd, but there's still plenty to enjoy overall. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Penguin Books UK.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
William Boyd is one of my long-time favourite authors. Although I've always found him a bit hit or miss, when he's on form he's one of the best. As a novelist he tends to write long books, full of layers and depth and detail, and with wonderful characterisation. But I've never come across any short stories by him before, so was intrigued to see how his style would work in that form.
The stories in this collection are largely unconnected, though many of them have a common theme of artists who have experienced some form of failure in their professional or personal lives. To some degree, they're mainly character studies, though each has a plot. They vary in length from quite short up to novella length and, for me, the longer they were, the better they were, so I guess that answers my question about his style suiting the format. There's a lot of humour in them, some of it mildly black, and truthfully, not much depth. I found them enjoyable enough to read but rather disappointingly light – although I'm sure my disappointment is mainly a result of my expectations of him based on his novels.
However, the characterisation is great. Even in the shorter ones, he creates fully formed individuals, with enough background for each to explain why they are as they are. He also shows a lot of originality in both subject matter and structure – everything from a UN soldier in the Congo to an out-of-work actor carrying a mysterious substance on a trip to Scotland, and from a love story told backwards to a series of unsent letters.
So in conclusion, for me, the collection doesn't have the depth that makes his novels stand out from the crowd, but there's still plenty to enjoy overall. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Penguin Books UK.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
fiendfull's review
4.0
The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth is a collection of stories by William Boyd, mostly about chance encounters, affairs, and the charting of lives. The book starts with some shorter stories, then the central story follows the titular Bethany Mellmoth—a young aspiring actress who dreams of better and deals with her separated parents—and then the final story is about a small time actor who finds himself in a mysterious thriller-type situation, not unlike the genre of film he tends to be cast in. At least one of the earlier stories connects to Bethany’s and overall it feels like a carefully curated story collection with her longer story at the heart.
The style of many of the stories—including Bethany Mellmoth and earlier shorter ones—is a snippet type one, with the given story feeling like either a moment of something larger or the telling of a story in small, fast pieces. This allows Boyd to depict characters’ lives in small spaces and it is mostly effective, creating readable short stories about interesting characters. Those hoping for more of an interconnected book, perhaps closer to a novel, when reading the summary may be disappointed, but there are connections and plenty of similar themes. Most of the stories are set in and around London and even when they don’t, it does feel like the characters could run into one another at any point.
Boyd's collection of stories is an interesting read about flawed people and decisive moments in their lives and relationships, with some conceits used to create the kernel of a story (for example a man listing all the things he has stolen throughout his life, or another vowing off adultery except for kissing) and others just showing elements of a certain character’s life. These are enjoyable literary short stories of varying length that can be consumed at once or dipped in and out of.
The style of many of the stories—including Bethany Mellmoth and earlier shorter ones—is a snippet type one, with the given story feeling like either a moment of something larger or the telling of a story in small, fast pieces. This allows Boyd to depict characters’ lives in small spaces and it is mostly effective, creating readable short stories about interesting characters. Those hoping for more of an interconnected book, perhaps closer to a novel, when reading the summary may be disappointed, but there are connections and plenty of similar themes. Most of the stories are set in and around London and even when they don’t, it does feel like the characters could run into one another at any point.
Boyd's collection of stories is an interesting read about flawed people and decisive moments in their lives and relationships, with some conceits used to create the kernel of a story (for example a man listing all the things he has stolen throughout his life, or another vowing off adultery except for kissing) and others just showing elements of a certain character’s life. These are enjoyable literary short stories of varying length that can be consumed at once or dipped in and out of.
hannahmayreads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a collection of very quirky stories, but that last one was plain odd. I found it disconcerting, and this felt like a strange way to end the book.
Look at all those words I've used - quirky, odd, disconcerting, strange. It didn't end up being the book I thought it was, or the one the blurb had me believe it was.
Look at all those words I've used - quirky, odd, disconcerting, strange. It didn't end up being the book I thought it was, or the one the blurb had me believe it was.
missmesmerized's review
4.0
William Boyd’s collection of stories “The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth“ is not easy to review. As it often with such an assembly of very various texts, differing in length and topic, not connected in any way, you cannot pay them all the due respect in a review. The opening is great, I absolutely liked the the story about the art dealer and womanizer Ludo who immediately after having married one is looking for the next wife. The story about the thief did not really appeal to me, it was a mere enumeration without a real story, whereas the story of the freeing of the monkey had some deeper message. The longest and title providing story was the one about Bethany Mellmoth. Actually, I think it would have also made a good novel if extended a bit. Bethany is an interesting character and I think her make-up could have provided more to fill the pages of a whole book. In the last story, we even get a kind of short thriller which I also liked a lot. You sense that there is something odd about the woman and job for Dunbar, but it is hard to say what is wrong about it. William Boyd knows how to tell a story and he definitely is best in longer narrations such as the one about Bethany’s dreams.
One reoccurring topic in several stories is love, or rather: unfulfilled love. The characters are looking for the one person with whom they can spend the rest of their life, but they only encounter the ones who do not really match or who have mischievous plans. Or they themselves are actually unable to love and to be faithful. Loneliness can be found in many of them which gives the whole collection a kind of underlying melancholy.
All in all, there is something in every single story and a lot of wit in Boyd’s writing make reading the stories a great pleasure. In the narration of Bethany’s dreams he somehow sums at a point what life and the core of his stories are about, what he not only tries but masterly manages to portray:
Bethany is suspicious – this is not normal: everything seems to be going well and this is not how the world works – no. Life is a dysfunctioning system, she knows: failure, breakdown, disappointment, frustration – where are you hiding?
One reoccurring topic in several stories is love, or rather: unfulfilled love. The characters are looking for the one person with whom they can spend the rest of their life, but they only encounter the ones who do not really match or who have mischievous plans. Or they themselves are actually unable to love and to be faithful. Loneliness can be found in many of them which gives the whole collection a kind of underlying melancholy.
All in all, there is something in every single story and a lot of wit in Boyd’s writing make reading the stories a great pleasure. In the narration of Bethany’s dreams he somehow sums at a point what life and the core of his stories are about, what he not only tries but masterly manages to portray:
Bethany is suspicious – this is not normal: everything seems to be going well and this is not how the world works – no. Life is a dysfunctioning system, she knows: failure, breakdown, disappointment, frustration – where are you hiding?
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