The False River by Nick Holdstock

 

I think somewhere within us, you could probably chart it back to childhood's fairy tales, there's an expectation that stories will have a happy ending. The hero or heroine may struggle through loss and hard times, but when they reach the final page their ending will be happy. Well, not here.  


In this collection of twelve short stories, Nick Holdstock brings us a glimpse of a world where it seems like if something can go wrong, it will. The characters struggle with loss, anger, ill health, or just the weight of day to day life, and circumstances thwarting their hopes of happiness. Somewhere, I felt, they'd all had a chance of a better life, but missed out.

The last story, The Curve of the Heavens, takes a step to the side, inviting the reader behind the scenes, so to speak, letting them see how the story is crafted, the characters moved around, good and bad luck distributed, and destiny decided by an omnipotent author. Here for once there's a happy ending of sorts, but my favourite was the preceding one, The Slope, about a young pianist determined to enjoy music (and, by extension, life) and leave the hard bits for another day.

Holdstock's prose is sparse. He writes as if watching his characters from a distance, uninvolved other than as an observer, but still building empathy for them in the reader.

I first read this book a few months ago but the overall mood seemed sad, and I wasn't in the right personal place for sad stories. Looking through the list of 'read but not reviewed' books I realised it had somehow slipped through and revisited it. I still found a lot of sadness, of life going pear-shaped, of missed opportunities, but this time, from a better personal position, I saw people still trying to hang onto hope despite everything. One of the characters describes them as "Broken people ill-treated by life who still cannot give up" - and I can't put it better.

Unthology 11 - edited by Ashley Stokes and Tom Vowler

We've reviewed many Unthology collections here at OurBookReviewsOnline, but previously they've all been read by The Mole. This time I, Maryom, managed to get my hands on the copy first, and I loved it! These are definitely my kind of stories; a little bit dark, enticing in their openings, engaging through the middle, and satisfying at the end - even when that ending is devastatingly sad.

In the introduction the editors encourage us to look beyond our everyday horizons, 'down that alleyway at twilight, into some barely lit building, its unknowable corners', for this is where these stories take place, on the margins of everyday life. Take notice of those people you might normally pass without a second glance, taking their presence for granted - the hospital workers, museum interpreters, farm workers, teens hanging out in an old caravan - they've all a story to tell, and it won't be the one you're expecting. Love, when it appears, is secretive, illicit or unrequited; not the stuff of romantic fiction. The overall tone is undoubtedly dark, so stir clear if you like your fiction feel-good and up beat.

I wouldn't fault any of the stories, but two stood out for me. Bloodstock by Paul Davenport-Randell, a tale of modern slavery, and Richard Smyth's The Berg, which introduced me to Erasmus Darwin's theory of how to combat climate change.


The Unthologists are -

Nick Holdstock
Sarah Dobbs
Paul Davenport-Randell
Angela Readman
George Sandison
Regi Claire
Richard Smyth
Georgina Parfitt
Rachael Smart
Jude Cook

Maryom's review - 5 stars 
Publisher - Unthank 
Genre - Adult contemporary fiction, short stories