Sunstroke and Other Stories

For me, characters in these stories are verbal portraits with no sharp edges. Often I find myself disengaged when I read writers from "across the pond." But not so with Tessa Hadley. This is one of those beautifully bound little books that this reader did not want to read straight through. Instead I chose to "do" a story a day. I guess my favorite is "Buckets of Blood," somewhat because that is such a great title. And when I got into the story--one about two sisters from a large minister's family--I began to realize that the ending would be what I predicted. But it wasn't. Handled by another writer, these characters would have been all lumped into the category of "dysfunctional," people one would not have wanted to know were they real. But that is not the case with Ms. Hadley's characters. Yet this reader feels no pity either. Her characters accept life and what it offers in a state of unspoken grace. I highly recommend the book. And the reader will love the actual feel of this book as well, providing evidence that Kindle is not all it's cracked up to be!

I agree with the other reviewers and hope you will too! These stories are so good I just want to share them with someone else who will appreciate them as much as I do.

Rarely is every story in a collection this good. Hadley's prose is keenly intelligent, her characters are flawed, raw, and vulnerable, and her voice is wonderful: wry and honest, sometimes punitive, always compelling. Truly a collection to savor - these stories will stay with you long after you finish reading them.

Tessa Hadley's Sunstroke is a marvelous collection of short stories. I can't tell you how many times I pick up a book of stories and just can't get through it for a variety of reasons. Sunstroke was the opposite. These stories are terrific, well-written, witty and thought-provoking. Perhaps the best thing I can say about them is that while reading them, I would come to the last few pages of a story and know, after reading a few, that Hadley had some sort of twist coming, something subtle but still surprising. These stories don't dissappoint. Highly recommended. Enjoy!