I find short story collections extremely hard to review, but this is the case even more so when the collection of stories is an anthology made up of various authors because there is such a huge span of talent and writing throughout. Sex and Death, edited by Sarah Hall and Peter Hobbs is an incredibly varied grouping of stories all about how we come into this world, and how we go out. Yes, the topics are somewhat similar, but each artist has their own take on what sex and death means (as they rightly should) so we’ve got a mixed bag of treats with this one. We’ve got stories about loved ones recently deceased, a woman developing a sex addiction because of a growing tumor in her brain, even a tale of a new mom agonizing over a recently developed anal fissure shortly after her baby’s birth (!!!). Â There is literally, something for everyone.
My favourite story was oddly titled “Porto Baso Scale Modellers” by Alan Warner, which was one of the most clever and hilarious things I have read in some time. It’s about a group of middle aged men who take their hobby of assembling miniature models of planes very seriously, and a gorgeous, sex-addicted woman joins their group because she has a remarkable talent for their nerdy little endeavor. I could read this story over and over again I loved it so much. And many other stories were very well-written, “The Postcard” by Wells Tower in particular had some beautiful turns of phrase, this one stuck out for me:
“Still, she had wished she had not heard the story, which was like a giant crystal chandelier Clement had put into her hands with instructions to never set it down” (p. 70).
Despite the above stories mentioned, I can’t say I really loved this book. Many of the stories were unremarkable, things I just wanted to get through until I was done the book. I really enjoyed a few of the stories, and disliked or was bored by many others. Even the Canadian contributions to this international collection let me down, which I’m ashamed to write, but would feel untruthful if I didn’t mention. 
Many people shy away from short story collections, and now I think I see why. Once you’ve finished reading all the stories, you don’t get the satisfaction of having completed a novel, even if you didn’t really like it. I don’t want to say reading this was a waste of time because I discovered some authors I would have never know about, but I think the collection could have done with a more discerning edit.
You did a good job.
thank you muchly!
Your cats are adorable! I try to poise mine with books and they just look at me like I’ve gone mad or start to play with the books!
I love your photo! I had this book from the library because one of my favourite writers is included. I like short stories, but I found many of these offerings forced, you know: “Write something about sex and death, you have two weeks, thank you.” And just because someone is an accomplished novelist, that does not a good short story writer make (and vice versa).
Agreed! Short stories are such a fine art, it’s a talent to pull them off that’s for sure
Funny – the two Canadian stories were among my favourites, which was a relief to me since they were part of the reason for reading the book. But I also liked many of the others. I agree that the one about the model airplanes was one of the good ones.
I used to feel that way about short stories, but they have been growing on me over the years. In this case, it was a good way to get a sample of a few new writers!
That’s a good point that I didn’t consider when looking at an anthology-it’s a great way to sample a bunch of writers! And even though you may not like one, you can quickly move on to another 🙂
I also find short story collections difficult to get into. But for writers there are numerous opportunities to get published in anthologies and many more websites publishing short stories. I’ve been published on some. But I do wonder how many readers the anthologies and websites attract.
It’s an underrated genre for sure
I sometimes feel like anthologies are for the writers so they can be published in a book somewhere–and I’ve been in two.
That’s about it, GTL.
I think the problem with anthologies is they are monstrously huge! As a reviewer, I don’t feel like I can count the book as “read” until I’ve literally read every single story. One anthology I’ve used in the college classroom that I think is a winner is The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: 50 North American Short Stories Since 1970. Granted, it’s 652 pages and truly designed for a classroom, but the stories in it are fantastic and varied. Some of the best, most memorable I’ve read are from that book. Kate Bernheimer edited an anthology of retold fairy tales that I thought was going to be awesome. It’s called My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales, but because the theme is so small, the book gets repetitive and loses its magic.
I’m the same way! I have to read every single story in it to call it ‘read’ so I think the 50 story anthology you mentioned may be too much for me haha