JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Reward System by Jem Calder

Julia has landed a fresh start – at a ‘pan-European’ restaurant.
‘Imagine that,’ says her mother.
‘I’m imagining.’

Nick is flirting with sobriety and nobody else. Did you know: adults his age are now more likely to live with their parents than a romantic partner?

Life should have started to take shape by now – but instead we’re trying on new versions of ourselves, swiping left and right, and searching for a convincing answer to that question: ‘What do you do?’

A compact set of contemporary short fiction, Jem Calder’s Reward System explores the millennial experience, modern life, getting older, and trying to solidify what it is we want from our jobs.

Reward System is six short stories, each varied in length and containing an assortment of characters who make an appearance across different stories – characters move in and out of stories almost like adult friends do. Jem has a rather skilled ability to capture the micro, minute details of everyday interactions – implied meaning, concealed desire, for example. Dialogue is quite bare but conveys all that it needs to.

“Because she knew her mother didn’t have many people to talk to her in life and that Wednesdays marked the remotest point of interspace between her Sunday fellowships at St Mike’s, Julia made it a midweek habit to FaceTime with her during the breaks that divided her split shifts at the kitchen.”

Each short story is broken up further into scenes and shorter snippets, allowing for somewhat of a staccato reading experience. It feels like what we’re experiencing of these characters is just a very tiny glimpse into a much wider story, and so it leaves you wanting more.

My favourite story is the first one – A Restaurant Somewhere Else – which also happens to be the longest one (107 pages). It certainly feels like the most fully-developed story, with a slower build and comprehensive character reactions. It is also a rather quirky and enticing setting, Julia being a sous chef at a rather up-market restaurant, surrounded by quite a large suite of eccentric characters to keep the story anchored and to maintain momentum.

“Pretty celibate this whole past year, actually. With only a wall separating her from Margot and only a global cellular-network connection separating Margot from her older sister…Julia had been too sound-and-space-conscious to bring any boys back to the apartment since moving in.”

Whilst I did find a couple of the stories a little dry and slow, and I did skim read over some paragraphs that I found a little monotonous, Jem will find loyal readers in those who appreciate short story collections. The package itself is gorgeous – hardback, smaller in size, with bold colours of orange, green and blue.

“Walking home, he said he was still hungry, and when they got back to his apartment, she baked two peaches and watched as he ate them both with ice cream. He was maybe the most unselfconscious eater she had ever seen, perhaps also the greediest.”

Observant and insightful, Jem Calder’s Reward System is recommended for readers of short fiction, novellas, and literary fiction. Readership skews 30+

Thank you to the publishing company for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reward System
Jem Calder
July 2022
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers

She is Haunted by Paige Clark

A mother cuts her daughter’s hair because her own starts falling out. A woman leaves her boyfriend because he reminds her of a corpse; another undergoes brain surgery to try to live more comfortably in higher temperatures. A widow physically transforms into her husband so that she does not have to grieve.

In She Is Haunted, these renditions of the author search for recognition and connection, and, more than anything else, small moments of empathy. But in what world will she move beyond her haunted past and find compassion for herself?

With piercing insights into transnational Asian identity, intergenerational trauma and grief, the dynamics of mother-daughter relationships, the inexplicable oddities of female friendship, and the love of a good dog, Paige Clark has crafted an exquisite, moving and sophisticated debut work of fiction.

Paige Clark’s She is Haunted is a collection of eighteen short stories, each grappling with issues of recognition and connection, as well as loneliness and intimacy. Other themes peppered throughout the book include identity, grief, intergenerational trauma, sickness and hurt.

My favourite stories are Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Gwendolyn Wakes, In A Room of Chinese Women, A Woman in Love, Why My Hair is Long, She is Haunted, and Snow Angels.

“I know lots of things now that I’m dead. Peter from Apartment Two has a spastic bladder. My former boss Morgan keeps her toenails in a gold jewellery box. My brother and his wife are trying for a baby. I always excuse myself before things get too heated. I don’t know much about my mother yet. I am waiting for grief to catch her, but she mostly seems ashamed-of her body, of what it made.”

Strengths lie in Paige’s ability to evoke instant imagery, with piercing prose and sharp dialogue. There are moments of humour in some of the stories, as well as irony and wit.

Stories vary in length, but all are self-contained. With females taking centre-stage across most of the book, each story in She is Haunted grapples with multiple themes and tones and will resonate with readers of all ages. Many of the stories offer insights into intergenerational trauma and Asian heritage. Each story possesses an element of strength and capability, but together, the collection is a really incredible piece of writing. Naturally, some stories won’t resonate with every reader but that’s the beauty of a collection — it’s about finding the ones you love most amongst a suite of impeccable work.

“Every morning I wake up, put on his robe and his slippers and shuffle to the bathroom. In the mirror, I hope to see his face instead of mine. I try to erase the woman I find with cakes makeup and waterproof mascara. She is relentless.”

Readers will be able to relate to elements within each story, and perhaps a reader’s favourite story will give insight into what kind of person they are. Short stories allow us to glimpse into the most compelling moment of a much wider journey, and will often leave us with much to ponder. Familial dynamic has a strong presence in the collection, particularly mother-daughter relationships, the connection between romantic partners, and also female friendship.

“Gwendolyn scanned the screen. She had an eagle eye for errors. The numbers were all in the low eighties at least. There was a ninety-six. And two ninety-twos. She reached out and put her hand to Forrest’s upper back. She couldn’t recall the last time she had touched someone who wasn’t her mother.”

Evocative, electric and moving, She is Haunted is Paige’s debut and will please seasoned readers, and those who love short stories and literary works. Readership skews female, 25+

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

She is Haunted
Paige Clark
July 2021
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers

A Lovely and Terrible Thing by Chris Womersley

Around you the world is swirling. You pass through a submerged town, its steeples and trees barely visible through the thick water . . .

In the distance the wreck of the gunship HMS Elizabeth lolls on a sandbank. Oil slicks the canals of the capital and even now the old men still tell tales of mermen in the shallows . . .

A pool empty of water save for a brackish puddle and bones and hanks of fur on the floor – the remains of mice or possums that have tumbled in, lured perhaps by the moisture. Or perhaps by something else . . .

Chris Womersley’s A Lovely and Terrible Thing is a memorable collection of twenty short stories, each as vivid and original as the next.

It’s hard to try and capture a concurrent theme in this work, or even a message that runs within each story. They’re all very different. Whilst most of the short stories are written in first person, the protagonists of each story are all unique creations. Some you sympathise with, or grow to love. Others you forget about the second the story is over, because they’re not the most memorable aspect of the story — and weren’t intended to be.

Each story has the potential to linger in your mind, leave you thinking. And the beauty of a short story collection is not every story will resonate with every reader. Everything is open to interpretation.

“I’m watching Frank and something happens to him as he tells his story. Right in front of my eyes he seems to age. He sags in his seat. Earlier you could see the guy he might have been twenty years ago, before whatever happened to him happened, but now he resembles an old bunyip with a comb-over.”
THE VERY EDGE OF THINGS

My favourites from the collection include The House of Special Purpose, for it’s ominous, tense plot and the sense of dread that builds throughout; Growing Pain, for it’s fantastical, other-worldly feel, and how it follows a character at the cusp of her teen years, a seemingly domestic setting, but she’s going through something a reader cannot relate to; The Mare’s Nest, for the secrets it doesn’t reveal; The Deep End, for the build up, the tension, and the jaw-dropping, incredibly juicy ending; and Theories of Relativity, for establishing familial dynamic in so few words, for circling back to earlier moments in such little time, and for that haunting ending that I had to re-read just to believe it was real.

“After several minutes I became aware — by what precise means I couldn’t say — that we were being observed. There was a twitch in the bushes, followed by an intimation of snuffling. Again the sound of small bells. My father breathed heavily. His hand was warm and dry.”
THE MARE’S NEST

Traversing a number of different emotions from heartache to heartfelt, Chris’ short stories explore death, family, friendship, and expectation, among many other subjects — where our lives ended up, versus where we thought they were, how we process grief and explain that to others, how close we come to death, or perhaps others brush it, and we find ourselves fascinated by it. You could spend a long time dissecting these stories and still find things to love about Chris’ writing. What a marvellous, wise collection of work — highly recommended.

“In the short walk across the lawn I had run through a variety of scenarios, all of which involved me emerging victorious from whatever altercation I was about to engage in, but now I was here, in the thick of it, my resolve ran from me like water.”
THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE

Recommended for readers of short stories, or lovers of literary fiction. A quick read, and engrossing. Can easily be devoured in one sitting. A Lovely and Terrible Thing is filled with unpredictable characters and stories, and will leave you craving more.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Lovely and Terrible Thing
Chris Womersley
May 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Begin End Begin: A LoveOzYA Anthology by Danielle Binks

Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all. With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.

I love this anthology! All of the stories (and the chosen writers) gel really well together and it’s really nice to see a focus on Australian young adult fiction. This anthology features some really well-loved Aussie writers, well-known for their novels and their trilogies. I would’ve liked for it to feature perhaps one more debut writer (in addition to Danielle Binks) because this anthology would’ve really helped them kickstart their writing career and would be a great way to introduce YA readers to another fresh, unpublished voice.

“LoveOzYA was born from readers and writers and all who love Australia’s national youth literature. It was not born out of patriotism or a rejection of international voices — far from it. LoveOzYA has been about the inclusion of voices. And it has been a movement, as the name suggests, about love.”
-DANIELLE BINKS, anthology editor

I’ve broken down my review and posted about each individual story in the order in which they appear in the book.

One Small Step by Amie Kaufman
This is a sweet story set on Mars, about a young girl whose parents are encouraging her to continue her school education on Earth at any one of the prestigious universities who have recently offered her a place. She’s not sure what she wants to do, so she hasn’t made a decision yet. Also, she happens to be in love with her best friend and doesn’t know if she should tell her. She doesn’t know if her friend feels the same way.

“Keiko’s the only one who doesn’t care who or what I am, apart from just being me. She’s been around way too long to be impressed. You’d think things would be simple around Keiko, right? They’re not.”

This short story is really well-paced and quite enjoyable. The characters are really relatable and the romance between the two girls is really sweet. I must admit, it did feel a little self-contained for a short story. I got to the end of the story and felt like a lot of things were wrapped up, and I didn’t have any burning questions (which is something I thought short stories usually encourage?).

I also thought that the story should’ve been a bit longer. So much happens in the story (plot-wise and character-wise) that I felt like a higher word count was needed to really give the story more room. It’s really well-written though, and I enjoyed reading it. I think fans of Amie Kaufman will love it for its setting and also for the high-action plot.

I Can See The Ending by Will Kostakis
This story has such an adorable concept! It’s about a boy called Adam who gets glimpses of the future and can sense how things will play out. Once day, when hanging out with his colleague Nina, he foresees that the two of them will get married but will then later get divorced. Adam thinks that he should perhaps change fate. Perhaps he should not get into a relationship with her at all if it’s just going to end in heartbreak? Adam really struggles to understand how he’s supposed to use this gift he has.

“Time bends. I feel the hot rage before I see her. We’re standing on some street. She’s shouting, spitting, all rage, too. She’s older, we both are. I can tell without a mirror. I know the difference in my joints, my body seems less cooperative as I amble towards her. She raises a hand and throws smoothing at my chest. I catch it, almost fumble. She leaves. I hold a ring.”

This short story is the perfect length. It’s enjoyable, and it’s the perfect balance of character-driven and plot-driven. There’s fantastic character development and the premise is really unique and engaging. The story still leaves plenty of things open so that you are left wondering — you want to keep reading about these characters. I Can See the Ending also provides enough information to keep you entertained. I loved this!

In A Heartbeat by Alice Pung
This was probably one of my favourite stories in the anthology. It’s written in second person and is written like a letter from a pregnant teenage girl named Kim to her unborn child. It’s a very empowering story because in a way, Kim’s story parallels with her mother’s story — Kim’s father has left them and since then, her mother has raised Kim on her own. In A Heartbeat illustrates that you don’t need a man in your life to succeed, and that there are women out there who are strong, resilient and inspiring, and they’re single mothers too. Kim learns that the baby’s father Luis (and his parents) don’t want to be in the child’s life because it might harm his career. And then Kim comes to the realisation that she really doesn’t need him anyway.

“We’d been through this already. All the bloody adults counselling me, asking me if this is what I really wanted, did I understand the responsibilities of having a child, yadda yadda yadda. Of course I did, which was why I was so depressed and miserable.”

In A Heartbeat also illustrates how courageous and brave Kim is, and how much her mother loves her and supports her (despite how disappointed she is in Kim for the unplanned pregnancy). Kim is constantly being told what she can and can’t do and yet she’s strong enough to know that she can make her own decisions, despite the fact that the odds are stacked together. We also realise that if someone lets you down or isn’t there for you, then maybe it’s better that you let them leave rather than forcing them to stay.

I felt like there was only one flaw in the story, and that was the interwoven switch between past and present. Kim often tells stories about the past and the transition between past and present was a bit clunky. I often found myself a little confused because the constant switch between tense, along with the piece being written in second person, made the story a little jarring at times. But overall, I really really loved this piece and thought it was brilliant.

First Casualty by Michael Pryor
This is a suspenseful short story about a holiday trip (in space) that goes horribly wrong. It’s an interesting concept and I didn’t mind it. It may not have been my favourite story of the anthology, but I found it quite enjoyable to read.

“There’s nothing like being tagged ‘adequate’ to get your day off to a good start.”

The writing is great – engaging, entertaining and at times witty. The characters are fun to read and the story is quite plot-driven. There’s a lot happening in the story and it keeps the reader interested. In the middle of the story, I did feel like the pace dropped off a little bit (and it felt a little dry at times), but it picked up again towards the end.

Sundays by Melissa Keil
Melissa’s story is about a group of teenagers at a party that stretches over one long night. The main character, Gabrielle, seems to be clinging to her best friends because her home life isn’t that great at the moment. Her two friends Cameron and Claire have been dating for years — since primary school. But at the party, Claire tells them that they’ve broken up, and then Cam is seen kissing someone else. But Claire is happy, and she’s ready to move on. Although, it appears Gabrielle and their other friends aren’t quite ready yet.

“No, no, no. This wasn’t part of our plan. For four years it’s been Claire and Cameron, ever since they hooked up at Tommy’s fourteenth birthday party. Yeah, so maybe we are a wee bit invested. But, man, with the rest of our shitty, messy lives? Claire and Cam are the closest thing any of us have to a gravitational centre.”

This has quite the unique premise because it’s not the usual characters or storyline — it’s an interesting take on teenage relations. It speaks about relationships that perhaps still exist not because it’s right, but because it’s always been that way. Sundays will resonate with teenagers because it allows them to let go of the past and let go of what they’re desperately clutching to and embracing. It’s important to note that not everything is set in stone. This was written really well, with hilarious characters and plenty of wit and humour.

Missing Persons by Ellie Marney
This is about a young girl — Rachel — who moves from the country to Melbourne with her family. Missing Persons spans a number of weeks, allowing us to read about Rachel experiencing the first few weeks of school and making friends. It’s like a coming of age story and a story about a teenager trying to fit in to her new and unknown surroundings.

“The upsides of going home are that first, I get to go home. Second, I get to ride the tram. The city looks different out the tram window; more contained, almost manageable.”

I thought this was a sweet short story, touching on something that I think a lot of teenagers experience: adapting to new surroundings and learning to make new friends. I felt like there should’ve been more development with her relationship with her parents and her brother. Besides that, I think Ellie did a fantastic job with the pacing of the story and the friendship between Rachel and Mycroft.

Oona Underground by Lili Wilkinson
Amazing. One of my favourite stories of the anthology. It’s about two young friends who venture underground to find a witch who can answer any burning questions they may have about their lives. It’s a little magical and a little real and together, Lili has moulded an amazing short story that is lyrical, poetic but also wildly entertaining and unique.

“Do you ever wonder if you’re already dead?” he asks. “And you just haven’t realised?”

Out of all the stories in this anthology, Oona Underground is the story that says the most, but also leaves the most out of it at the same time. It keeps the reader guessing — it keeps them engaged and interested and enraptured. This story is an exploration of love and hope and destiny, but it is also a little paranormal and magical. Loved it!

The Feeling From Over Here by Gabrielle Tozer
This short story is about Lucy and Cameron, two young teenagers (with a complicated history) who both happen to be on the same bus ride from Canberra to Melbourne one night. They haven’t seen each other in years, not since Lucy and Cameron were at the same high school and they kissed each other at a party. And then Cameron became popular, and Lucy was bullied by Cameron’s friends.

“If they’re the bricks, then she’s the cement.”

The story takes place over one long bus ride between the two cities, where plenty of drama happens and many things force the two of them to acknowledge the other. We experience both Lucy and Cameron’s perspective and we come to understand how they feel about each other and about how things unfolded the last time they were together. That Feeling From Over Here touches on the hurdles of high school and how bullying can resonate with someone years later and how someone who doesn’t mean to can actually play a large part in the bullying.

I think there is one small flaw in the story, and that is the text messages that Lucy is sending her friends. Lucy messages her friends quite a few times in the story, but they don’t reply. The messages were a good way for the author to know how Lucy was feeling (at first, she sends her friends an SOS text when she realises that Cameron is on the same bus as her), but I think Gabrielle could’ve easily woven Lucy’s feelings into the prose of the story. I felt like the texts really weren’t necessary and probably could’ve been cut from the entire thing.

Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks
This was one of my unexpected highlights of the book — a touching story about siblings and their strong bond. Bowie is a fourteen-year-old girl who idolises her older brother King, and she’s quite sad that he’s about to leave their home town Orianna and travel the world. She follows him one night when he goes out to hang out with his friends. It’s actually his last night in the town, and she wants to be a part of it. He lets her come along with him and his friends as they go to to the Mount Solemn Observatory.

“I stay crouched by my window, where I’ve been since hearing King leave — the familiar sound of his feet hitting the floor, a creak on the staircase and the little bang of the back door…Off on some adventure on his last night in Orianna. And before I’ve even fully decided, I’m already pulling on jeans and a T-shirt, reaching for a pair of thongs.”

Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory is a fantastic short story and a really great snippet of a much longer piece. I felt like I wanted to know more about King — I would love to read a longer piece about his travels overseas and his adventures abroad. I think it would make a great YA novel.

Danielle’s short story captures that sibling relationship perfectly. On the one hand, your younger sibling can be quite the embarrassment when you’re around your friends. But on the other hand, you’re glad to have the company and there’s a closeness there that you relish in. The pacing was on point and the characters were so full of life and three dimensional. I loved reading about all of them!

Competition Entry #349 by Jaclyn Moriarty
What a quirky, hilarious, scrumptious short story! I’d read a lot of people’s reactions to this anthology before I picked it up, and a lot of people were stating that Jaclyn’s story was one of their favourites. And I’m so glad it is the story that ends the book, because it’s probably the most fun. What a way to conclude the anthology!

“A voice spoke up. A soft, low voice. The sort of voice that makes feathers slide up and down your spine, and fireflies zing around your stomach.”

In this story, a young girl enters a competition to win a time-travel package at the Time Travel Agency. Her answer, which is supposed to be twenty-five words or less, is actually about forty pages. As it turns out, she’s already been to the Time Travel Agency for school, and she feels like she needs to redo her experience.

Earlier that morning, she’d been there and instead of going back in time to the early 1900s like most of the kids in her class, she went back a few weeks to the time that she’d kissed Noah in her bedroom and then he’d left her house and never called her again. She wanted to know what she did wrong and why he had been pretending to ignore her since their kiss. It’s sweet, but this is also a truly hilarious story.

Jaclyn Moriarty is a wonderful writer, with poetic prose and lyrical writing and she somehow manages to mould together the most beautiful of sentences to make the perfect story. Reading her writing is always such a joy.

Begin End Begin: A #LOVEOZYA Anthology
Danielle Binks
May 2017
HarperCollins Publishers

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel

One of Britain’s most accomplished, acclaimed, and garlanded writers, Hilary Mantel delivers a brilliant collection of contemporary short stories that demonstrate what modern England has become

In The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, Hilary Mantel’s trademark gifts of penetrating characterization, unsparing eye, and rascally intelligence are once again fully on display.

Her classic wicked humor in each story—which range from a ghost story to a vampire story to near-memoir to mini-sagas of family and social fracture—brilliantly unsettles the reader in that unmistakably Mantel way.

Mantel brutally and acutely writes about gender, marriage, class, family, and sex, cutting to the core of human experience. Unpredictable, diverse, and even shockingly unexpected, each story grabs you by the throat within a couple of sentences. The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher displays a magnificent writer at the peak of her powers.

I shouldn’t have read this so soon after reading Stone Mattress – you just can’t top Margaret Atwood’s short stories. Nevertheless, I’ve done my best to give it a non-biased review.

Hilary Mantel is a great literary writer, and most of these short stories have been written before and won various awards. Each protagonist has layer upon layer of diverse characterisation that reaches into the reader’s psychosis to draw them into the story. Most of these stories are directed in a way that is different to what I was expecting. The title story is particularly amazing in its ability to confuse you and satisfy you at the same time.

These stories are also a good length – they range between 20-40 pages, and you can get through one or two stories in one sitting, which is easy to do on a lunch break or on the commute to and from work. The Heart Fails Without Warning is my favourite story, and is about the continuous decline of a young anorexic from the point of view of her horrendously rude and unsympathetic sister.

Okay, so there were a couple of faults. Sometime there was too much characterisation. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but in a short story, you have fewer words to get the story told, and sometimes characterisation can bog it down. Sure, in a novel it’s wonderful, but in a short story, I felt myself skipping a couple of paragraphs because it wasn’t moving along quickly enough.

Also, some of the short stories were a little drab. They weren’t as engaging or interesting, and they didn’t capture human society quite like the other stories did. Also, I don’t think the stories particularly blended well together. They were written at different times, and Hilary Mantel never wrote them with the intent that they’d all be put together in a novel. Usually a collection of stories hold a similar theme or underlying exploration of character, but the stories in this novel seemed a little too diverse.

I would recommend this only to a reader who is familiar with literary works.

My Score: 6/10
Buy HERE