This was my book group read for August, and I probably wouldn’t have read it otherwise as I’m generally not a fan of short stories, although I do love Anthony Doerr’s novels – All The Light We Cannot See, and About Grace. Well, I’m glad I did read it as the writing was really beautiful and compelling and the stories were long enough and rich enough to draw me into the world of their protagonists and really care about what happens to them. There is a theme of man’s relationship to nature which runs through the stories, with quite an emphasis on hunting (especially fishing) which might have put me off if I’d known ahead of reading, but actually didn’t detract from my enjoyment. There are some magical realism elements (yay!) with a blind man’s uncanny ability to find rare shells, and a woman who discovers after marrying a hunter that she can feel the last thoughts and emotions of recently dead animals, as well as seeing the dreams of sleeping animals (and humans). I really enjoyed reading this book.
Sarah Wray Writer 