‘Man Friday and the Sockball Championships’ by Mike Bonsall

Story Title: ‘Man Friday and the Sockball Championships’ by Mike Bonsall
Collection/Anthology?: Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 3 (Bristol Review of Books Ltd.)
Date Read: 09 September 2010
Briefly: Imprisoned and isolated inside a futuristic cell-like transparent cube, an unnamed man tries to deal with the daily monotony of being surrounded with nothing and nobody.
Afterthoughts: [...]

‘The Wintersongs’ by Kevin Barry

Title: ‘The Wintersongs’ by Kevin Barry
Collection/Anthology?: There Are Little Kingdoms (Stinging Fly Press)
Date Read: 09 September 2010
Briefly: A ‘bony and long and turkey-necked’ old woman boards a train at a country station and sits down on a seat opposite a younger woman traveling on her own. Far from shy, the older woman begins [...]

‘Snow Falls and Then Disappears’ by Simon Van Booy

Title: ”Snow Falls and Then Disappears” by Simon Van Booy
Collection/Anthology?: The Secret Lives of People in Love (Beautiful Books)
Date Read: 09 September 2010
Briefly: A man ruminates on past relationships as he prepares to leave his deaf wife for good, while she pays a visit to the local bakery on the corner.
Afterthoughts: What I [...]

‘Gardening’ by Rachel Howard

Story Title: ‘Gardening’ by Rachel Howard
Collection/Anthology?: Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 3 (Bristol Review of Books Ltd.)
Date Read: 07 August 2010
Briefly: A woman discovers that an old Eastern European woman called Elena, has taken up residence in her overgrown garden.
Afterthoughts: Aside from the fact that I read this story while sitting on the [...]

‘Only the Sure of Foot’ by Ian Madden

Title: ‘Only the Sure of Foot’ by Ian Madden
Collection/Anthology?: Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 3 (Bristol Review of Books Ltd.)
Date Read: 05 August 2010
Briefly: Living in the barren and battered wilderness of the Scottish countryside, the baker, Munro is a meticulous man and he can’t abide ‘imperfections’ in the quality of his [...]

‘Mum’s The Word’ by Valerie O’Riordan

Title: ‘Mum’s The Word’ by Valerie O’Riordan
Collection/Anthology?: Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 3 (Bristol Review of Books Ltd.)
Date Read: 05 August 2010
Briefly: A teenager reveals the hardships of her life; a life she shares alone with an abhorrent father.
Afterthoughts: What we have here is the winning story of this year’s Bristol Short [...]

Forethoughts: Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Vol. 3

And so my literary journey brings me to another short story anthology that I’m hugely excited about reading, the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 3 (Bristol Review of Books). I’ll admit from the outset that this year is the first year that I’ve gotten involved with reading anything outputted by the Bristol [...]

Rob Reports: Simon Van Booy and Kevin Barry at EdBookFest 2010

And so after weeks of bombarding you with uncontainable excitement, the day finally dawned when I would get to see one of my contemporary literary heroes ‘in the flesh’, along with another short story writer who has fast gained my respect. That’s right dear friends, Monday was the night that Simon Van Booy and Kevin [...]

‘No Greater Gift’ by Simon Van Booy

Title: ‘No Greater Gift’ by Simon Van Booy
Collection/Anthology?: The Secret Lives of People in Love (Beautiful Books)
Date Read: 29 August 2010
Briefly: Having just picked up a mysterious package, Gabriel considers the passengers with whom he shares his subway journey home with. In turn the passengers are considering Gabriel, and many of them do [...]

‘Ideal Homes’ by Kevin Barry

Title: ‘Ideal Homes’ by Kevin Barry
Collection/Anthology?: There Are Little Kingdoms (Stinging Fly Press)
Date Read: 29 August 2010
Briefly: This story takes the reader on an evening tour around a quintessential Irish village, with brazen twins, Donna and Dee, acting indirectly as impromptu tour guides.
Afterthoughts: If I were asked what kind of story I was [...]

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