I’m not usually a fan of short stories, but I bought and read this for two reasons. Firstly, Anna Burns Novel, Milkman was my stand out read of 2019 – I absolutely loved it, and secondly, I was a third of the way through reading Underland by Robert Macfarlane, which is a very interesting and readable non-fiction book about all things underground. Although I am fascinated by all the interesting facts and anecdotes about underground tunnels, waterways, ecosystems etc, I struggle to maintain interest through a whole full length non-fiction novel. For me, all those facts would make a compelling story even better – they could be metaphors for the hidden depths of the characters, but without the storytelling ride, I just get bored and give up. So, for a bit of light relief, I read Mostly Hero. Now that was a fun ride! As you would expect from Anna Burns, the story is a bit out there and off the wall – it’s a self aware parody of the superhero genre, and I feel like it was probably multi layered with meaning and allegory but that I’m not smart enough to appreciate it (that didn’t matter though as I really enjoyed the romp). Superheroes, supervillains, femme fatales, shoot outs, secret hideouts, love, hate death, resurrection – it’s got it all. Great fun.
Sarah Wray Writer 