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A review by gemmaduds
The BBC National Short Story Award 2021 by Rory Gleeson, Georgina Harding, Richard Smyth, Lucy Caldwell, Danny Rhodes
3.0
ALL THE PEOPLE WERE MEAN & BAD
Liked the snapshot into two characters' lives and the brief time they connect, which is the theme for all of these stories and one of my favourite short story tropes. In this one we have a woman with a baby on a plane, sat next to a stranger who shows a lot of kindness towards her. We learn lots about them without really knowing much at all.
THE BODY AUDIT
My favourite of the stories; at first I thought it quite disconcerting. But it turns into a commentary on body positivity and the connections between teen boys, the kind of support between each other you rarely read about in stories of boys & men.
NIGHT TRAIN
An interesting encounter between two women who find themselves in the same carriage on a sleeper train. I enjoyed it for the most part, but remember little about it other than it felt like it just stopped at the end.
TOADSTONE
Melancholy, reflective - but I don't think I really understood it and didn't get much from it.
MAYKOPSKY DISTRICT, ADYGHE OBLAST
An interesting format. We don't get any detailed information about the three men, but the setting and intention is clear. A lot happens and then gets wrapped up in a few short pages.
Liked the snapshot into two characters' lives and the brief time they connect, which is the theme for all of these stories and one of my favourite short story tropes. In this one we have a woman with a baby on a plane, sat next to a stranger who shows a lot of kindness towards her. We learn lots about them without really knowing much at all.
THE BODY AUDIT
My favourite of the stories; at first I thought it quite disconcerting. But it turns into a commentary on body positivity and the connections between teen boys, the kind of support between each other you rarely read about in stories of boys & men.
NIGHT TRAIN
An interesting encounter between two women who find themselves in the same carriage on a sleeper train. I enjoyed it for the most part, but remember little about it other than it felt like it just stopped at the end.
TOADSTONE
Melancholy, reflective - but I don't think I really understood it and didn't get much from it.
MAYKOPSKY DISTRICT, ADYGHE OBLAST
An interesting format. We don't get any detailed information about the three men, but the setting and intention is clear. A lot happens and then gets wrapped up in a few short pages.