Review: Enjoyable quick read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 26, 2014
One of the reasons that Jenny Worstall is an interesting writer is that her experience of teaching and her love of music shines through her work. This collection is no exception as the theme of the first story is a shared love of the violin between an older and a younger player and the second story features a teacher struggling to achieve a work / life balance.The third story draws on different sources and has an unexpected, rather macabre, twist in the ending.Jenny Worstall writes in a clear, direct style and gives enough detail to create images in the reader's mind without losing the concise precision that makes a good short story. She is skilful at hinting and leaving readers to work it out for themselves. In fact the endings to the first and second stories are ambiguous and cleverly open-ended. The characters and their situations are very real and their emotions and dilemmas are easy to empathise with.I enjoyed reading this collection which I think you might describe as a 'coffee break' read and for that it was ideal.