132,602
edits
Changes
Love Me Tender by Jane Feaver (view source)
Revision as of 09:03, 11 August 2020
, 09:03, 11 August 2020no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Love Me Tender
|author=Jane Feaver
|reviewer=Luci Davin
|genre=Short Stories
|summary=A series of beautifully written linked short stories about isolation, loneliness and even murder in a Devon village.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=224
|publisher=Vintage
|date=May 2010
|isbn=978-0099521280
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>0099521288</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=0099521288|aznus=<amazonus>0099521288</amazonus>
}}
The twelve linked short stories in this collection are set in the Devon village of Buckleigh. Many of the characters drink or work in the same pub, the Red Lion. The setting is a popular tourist destination, but the village of these stories is no rural idyll – it is the setting for tales of difference, division, isolation, communication breakdowns, loneliness and even death – the collection has a higher body count than many crime novels.
The drawback of the form is that with many of the most interesting characters in the collection, we are left wanting to know more, about how they got where they are or what happens next. In some cases , there are allusions in later stories to fill in the gaps, but in others , I was left wondering.
The stories are beautifully written, and this makes the tragedy of the lives of many of the characters all the more moving – too many of the characters are feeling the pain of some sort of rejection, the lack of a place to occupy.
Thank you to the publishers for sending a copy of this book to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals then you might also appreciate [[It's Beginning To Hurt by James Lasdun]]. We've also enjoyed [[An Inventory of Heaven by Jane Feaver]].
{{amazontext|amazon=0099521288}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=0099521288}}
{{commenthead}}