paigeawesome

Just like the stars say--I really liked this book. I saw it sitting at the library's new items table. I picked it up but saw that it was short stories and (remembering my last run-in with a volume of short stories), put it down instantly. But a few seconds later I decided that the cover art was charming enough for me to give it a try.

Here's my story-by-story rating of the book:
5 stars: Lion and Panther in London, The Scriptological Review: A Last Letter from the Editor, Ethnic Ken
4 stars: What to Do with Henry, Light & Luminous, Escape Key
3 stars: The Gulf, Aerogrammes, Girl Marries Ghost

There's not really a bad story among them, although Ethnic Ken was my faaavorite, and I also loveloveloved the Scriptological Review.

A review on the back of the book said that these stories were "by turns rib-shakingly funny and poignant..." Well they're not exactly rib-shakingly funny--I don't think I laughed out loud once. But there are definitely humorous bits and parts that made me smile and happy and chuckle on the inside.

If I ever come across another short story by Ms James, you can bet I will read it. Even the ones I didn't ~adore~ were still evocative and gave me stuff to think about. She's an excellent short story writer--and I'd love to read her novel too.