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A review by chris_davies
Something Like Breathing by Angela Readman
4.0
What if you couldn't kiss anyone? Ever? Not in the way that the rest of the world can.
A bit of a slow burner, this one. Far more conventional in tone than Readman's brilliant short story collection 'Don't Try This At Home', in that the supernatural element to the story is tamped down, the story takes a while to get going. Half way through I was thinking it was okay but unspectacular. But the final third of this book, where all of the carefully laid threads are gathered together, is astonishing. When I found myself asking the question at the top of this review, I realised that there was so much more to this book than originally met the eye. And that's just one of the issues addressed - loneliness, coming of age, mental health and the vicissitudes of small town life all get an airing. It's all written in a nice, clear style with wonderful poetic flourishes (but not too much, thankfully).
One to stick with and to think about long after you've turned the final page.
A bit of a slow burner, this one. Far more conventional in tone than Readman's brilliant short story collection 'Don't Try This At Home', in that the supernatural element to the story is tamped down, the story takes a while to get going. Half way through I was thinking it was okay but unspectacular. But the final third of this book, where all of the carefully laid threads are gathered together, is astonishing. When I found myself asking the question at the top of this review, I realised that there was so much more to this book than originally met the eye. And that's just one of the issues addressed - loneliness, coming of age, mental health and the vicissitudes of small town life all get an airing. It's all written in a nice, clear style with wonderful poetic flourishes (but not too much, thankfully).
One to stick with and to think about long after you've turned the final page.