Story Title: ‘Baking Blind’ by Melanie Whipman.
Collection/Anthology?: Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 4 (Bristol Review of Books)
Briefly: Naive and somewhat blinded by a romantic notion of Britain (a love fostered by her father, an English-language teacher), sixteen-year-old Laima leaves Lithuania to take up a job in England. It soon becomes clear however – to the reader at least – that she isn’t in the UK to work in the job that she thought she was.
Afterthoughts: This is exactly what a short story should be – clear, precise and affecting. There are fleeting moments of tenderness in Baking Blind but the overall tone is one of sadness and despair; a feeling that becomes all the more apparent when one sits and reflects on the story afterwards. An excellent example of powerful storytelling, but one that is delivered in a subtle kind of way.
Rating: 
This story was read as part of a review of the Bristol Review of Books Anthology 4. If you want to find out more about this collection then I invite you to pop along to my forethoughts post for this title. I also encourage you to make a trip over to the publisher page for this title.
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