Adventures in Capitalism – Toby Litt

Eighteen short stories that articulate some whacky ideas including: living life on the advice of advertising slogans; the perils associated with collecting for charity dressed as a pink fluffy bunny; the embarrassment of an unfortunate sartorial faux-pas; and the difficulties of dealing with a sunflower sprouting on one’s face.

These were the ones that worked best for me, along with the one with the ghost in the (washing) machine.  Others were less memorable, more experimental or I found too ‘arty’.

But that is what you get with a collection of short fiction - a bit of a pick and mix with some to your taste and others, frankly, not.

I Let You Go – Clare Mackintosh

The story starts with a shocking incident and rapidly moves into damage limitation.

In an effort to forget the traumatic event the narrator heads for the hills, and the coast; in other words, the cliffs of South Wales.  There she ekes out a solitary and frugal existence, at least until new possibilities dawn.

Meanwhile DI Ray Stevens and his sidekick DC Kate Evans are throwing resources at the case, without much luck.  Even when the case is officially shelved they continue to work on it out of hours.  And that is not going to ease the marital tension at the Stevens home any.

The two narratives work out side by side, inexorably moving closer.  A breakthrough occurs that seems to crack the case – or does it; DI Stevens has his doubts (that the readers probably share).  A third voice joins the narrative and things get more complicated and much, much darker.

Pace gathers, pages turn, tension ratchets up; and twists twist until they can twist no more.  Then there is a resolution, and satisfaction in a well plotted, assuredly written first book from this ex-policewoman.

Ghostwritten – David Mitchell

Billed as a novel in nine parts, this reads more like nine novellas loosely linked.

The settings move east to west with the sun – Japan, Hong Kong, China, Mongolia, Petersburg, London, the Western Isles of Scotland, and the east coast of the USA.  In each location a different lead character engages the reader in their life, sometimes a single day and at the other extreme, lasting cradle to grave. There is some overlap of characters in the stories, though this is incidental and teasing rather than necessary for plot development.

If there is a common theme it may be the need to escape, physically or mentally, from a situation, or to search for a solution.  If there is an overarching resolution it is left to the reader to fathom.

Nevertheless the assemblage provides interesting reading, skilfully employing a variety of styles to address a variety of modern themes.