Story Title: ‘Struthio Camelus’ by Joanna Campbell
Collection/Anthology?: Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 3 (Bristol Review of Books Ltd.)
Date Read: 15 September 2010
Briefly: The story joins Mr. Daniels as he’s about to take an interview for the position of loan advisor. Although nervous, Daniels has a ‘weapon’ on his side. And that ‘weapon’ is a self-help book which gives all the advice that he needs, on how to get himself through tense situations such as this.
Afterthoughts: OK, the first thing I would say about this story is, it’s original. From the very first paragraph Joanna Campbell gives us a hint to suggest that this story has a little something to hide, but there’s no way on earth that anyone is going to guess what that little something may be. I’ve got to say I’m a fan of Campbell’s writing ‘voice’ too. It has a certain vibrant bounciness to it, which makes it easy and enjoyable to connect with. Ultimately the story ends up being a little too surreal for me, so I haven’t scored it as highly as I probably would of, but I don’t want this to be a reflection on Campbell as a whole. She’s shown me more than enough of her talent in this story to make me want to seek out more from her.
Rating: 
This story was read as part of a review of the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology, Volume 3. If you want to find out more about this anthology then I invite you to head on over and read my ‘forethoughts’ post, and/or visit the the Bristol Short Story Prize website.
About Rob
