Two book reviews: Short fiction and long

I've recently returned from a 5-day work and fun trip interstate, during which I read one book start to finish (the short story collection) and finished off the novel I had been ambling slowly through. Very different books! My thoughts are below. (My next reading mission is to circle back to the Booker shortlist and clean up the four books on it that I haven't yet read, so that will probably be the next book post).

I love short story collections, and I do tend to favour single-author collections as I think it gives you more of an opportunity to read yourself into the author's oeuvre, but this book was a real departure for me in terms of genre. I am not usually a horror reader, although I do read SFF horror crossovers from time to time; reading urban horror fiction is not my usual jam.

That said, I really enjoyed this collection, and read it very quickly. As with all short story volumes, there were stand-outs and weaker stories, but overall, the tonal effect was consistent (and consistently creepy in a growing-awareness kind of way), and I very much like the way Lozada-Oliva sits in a space of uncertainty, allowing for multiple possible interpretations. (I always think that's scarier than crossing every t and dotting every i).

My favourite stories were:

- Heads, which I liked for its horror take on dystopia (arguably all dystopias are horrific to an extent, but this one really blended horror devices with dystopian ones seamlessly)

- Pool House, which absolutely creeped me out and I am still thinking about (those silver spiders!!) and is a great exemplar of the "leaving it open to reader's interpretation" mode)

- Tails, which I found unexpectedly sweet while still being absolutely a horror story (I also thought the protagonist's voice was especially strong in this one)

- Dream Man, which had a kaleidoscopic messing-with-reality quality that I enjoyed

For my money, the weakest story was actually the book closer, Community Hole. One of the longest stories in the book, I thought it meandered around too much and was also more heavy-handed than the generally lighter-touch shorter works. But that's a minor critique in a book that I genuinely enjoyed reading. I'll certainly be on the lookout for more by this writer. 8/10 overall for me.

I  have seen reviewers refer to de Kretser's technique and writing skill as "formidable", and I completely endorse that characterisation. In this book, as in all the others of hers I have read, that talent and discipline is fully on display - her descriptions jump off the page, her language is compelling and careful, and the text is incredibly readable without ever dumbing down the issue for the reader's comfort. I was constantly coming across passages and turns of phrase that had me exclaiming happily at the perfection of the phrasing and reading them out loud to whoever was listening (sometimes that was just that cat, but nonetheless :-)

However, on balance, I didn't absolutely love this book in the way I have some of her other works, and it's for two reasons.

Firstly, this is essentially a plotless book. It is a series of character and life studies of individuals that link together in some way (a daisy chain, not everyone linked), but within each person's story, very little happens, or at least not compellingly.

Secondly, the character work itself wasn't first rate. Some of the characters are more engaging than others, but in my view, none of them are especially likeable or interesting as people (with the possible exception of Celeste). Novels that are essentially linked character stories can be amazing in the right hands (looking at you, Jennifer Egan, Elizabeth Strout) but I don't think de Kretser nailed it here.

Overall, I liked it - it was a relaxing and leisurely read, because the prose was never less than top notch and the lack of a propulsive plot made it easy to dip in and out of - but I didn't love it. Unlike some of her other books, this isn't one I'd read again. 6.5/10 for me.