Heart Lamp - Banu Mushtaq (And Other Stories, 2025) When I heard that Heart Lamp was the winner of this year's International Booker Prize, I'll admit that my first reaction was disappointment in that cover. I had my bookseller eyes on in this circumstance, where short story collections don't generally sell that well and covers… Continue reading Book Review: Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Banu Mushtaq
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury, 2006) with illustrations by Charles Vess I've had two vastly different experiences with Susanna Clarke's work. Reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell essentially put me off ever joining a book club but Piranesi is one of my favourite books. So I wasn't sure where I would… Continue reading Book Review: The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
Peacocks of Instagram - Deepa Rajagopalan (Astoria, 2024) I've been reading a fair number of short stories so far in 2025 and so, I'll be honest, within a few days of finishing this collection, it began to blur in my memory with the others. Which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it. I did,… Continue reading Book Review: Peacocks of Instagram by Deep Rajagopalan
Show Don't Tell - Curtis Sittenfeld (Penguin Random House, 2025) Until a trusted book friend recommended Romantic Comedy to me, I had not given Curtis Sittenfeld's work much thought. I had, I'll admit, judged it by its covers which looked to me both juvenile and fluffy. I took my friend's advice though and read (or… Continue reading Book Review: Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld
Sing To It - Amy Hempel (Scribner, 2019) This collection of short stories by Amy Hempel is short and melodic and the best way I can describe it is that many of the stories feel more like poems. Many are very short - the book is only 149 pages long but has 15 stories within… Continue reading Book Review: Sing To It by Amy Hempel
Antarctica by Claire Keegan and The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy are two short story collections by female Irish writers. Since I read them back to back, it was hard not to compare them as I was reading and I felt it made a sort of sense to… Continue reading Book Review: 2 Irish Short Story Collections
Roman Stories - Jhumpa Lahiri (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023) This is a collection of short stories that aren't necessarily linked but feel like they are. They are all set in the city of Rome and many of them share the theme of outsiders or newcomers to the Italian city. Many of them are told in… Continue reading Book Review: Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
I've read and loved enough by Kate Atkinson (and reviewed some too!) to expect a bit of weirdness from her work. I was excited to see that her latest release is a collection of short stories and looked forward to seeing how her talents fared in this format. My initial impression of Normal Rules Don't… Continue reading Book Review: Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson
Astray - Emma Donoghue (Back Bay Books, 2012) I've loved everything I've read by Emma Donoghue so it shouldn't be surprising that I also loved this short story collection. But I really was blown away. The Wonder showed me that Donoghue excels in historical fiction but I was still so impressed by what she manages… Continue reading Book Review: Astray by Emma Donoghue
The Pull of the Moon - Julie Paul (Brindle & Glass, 2014) This was a fine collection of short stories. And I mean that in a complimentary manner. This short story collection had languished on my TBR for years and so when I needed something quick and sweet to mix up my reading, I requested… Continue reading Book Review: The Pull of the Moon by Julie Paul
Karissa Reads Books 