Kathy Burke

This anthology brings together an energetic selection of short stories. Although diverse in content, themes of lostness, displacement, grief, and the search for home, recur.

Grenfell. The terribleness of the event needs no emphasis, but I’m glad that via projects such as this short story collection, and more high profile avenues, it is being kept at the forefront of minds. More importantly, the trauma inevitable in the aftermath of this tragedy should not be underestimated. The collection opens with a plainly spoken forward from Dr Dean Burnett, in which he goes on to describe the mechanisms and processes of PTSD. The book is worth having a look at for this alone. Time only heals if that time is spent dealing - there is no shortcut to addressing trauma, and those affected will be for the rest of their lives. The way this trauma manifests can be helped with the right intervention.

As with short story collections, there are some pieces to my taste and some not really for me. Irvine Welsh has a cheeky little number, and Christopher Brookmyre’s Out of the Flesh is a pleasing take on investigative small-town folk horror. These two stood out to me, but there’s plenty to satisfy opposing predilections.

A well thought out and layered collection that’s worth supporting.… (more)