Lead Review

• Book: Pelt and Other Stories
• Location: World
• Author: Catherine McNamara

Review Author: tripfiction

We have featured the writing of Catherine McNamara before, specifically her novel (probably one of the longest title ever…) The Divorced Lady’s Companion to Living in Italy (sex and the city Milanese style) set in Milan, and her collection of short stories The Cartography of Others.We have on both occasions praised her quirky and incisive style. The cover of the former was enough to catch my eye from the get go!

Pelt and Other Stories continues in similar vein. The  stories bring the reader incontrovertibly face to face with raw human encounters, and the writing style is consistently good. She is clearly well-traveled and brings the wealth of different cultures and observations to her writing.

Pelt, the lead-in story of the collection, tells the story of the relationship between an African woman and her lover. But her lover, Rolfe, is in fact married to Karina, who comes to visit him (them). From the outset Karina becomes acutely aware that the narrator is full term in her pregnancy; she herself is barren, which of course makes for a very tricky situation. It is told with aplomb. That story is set in Africa.

Other stories take you to Australia, Italy, Berlin and places you can guess at. The writing is taut, acerbic at times. Alcohol and snowboarding don’t mix (no news there, but it is the slow burn story that tantalises….). Luca takes Janet to stay with his elderly parents (essentially so she can care for them). The titles of each story are novel and eye catching.

So, for something a little different – something oftentimes a little quirky –  then the work of Catherine McNamara would be a good choice.

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