The Void: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dogs In Jeopardy: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Blithe Spirit: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spellbound: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Indiscreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shine, Pamela! Shine!: ⭐️⭐️
Existential Marginalization: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Classic Quest 17–Crime and Punishment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Puppies and Rainbows: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gene-sis: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What If?: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall I liked how by the end everything was strung together in this world. Franklin is hilarious and also a sad character, but I like that he was interwoven throughout.

Unfortunately, I felt that this set of stories was a bit bland, not very gripping. I loved the premise of a few and the absurdity of it, but otherwise it just didn’t do a whole lot for me.

I’m a big fan of Kate Atkinson and was pleased to see a new collection of short stories being published this year.
I always feel that Kate Atkinson, is an intelligent writer.and is a fantastic storyteller and these short stories live up to this. The one thing I hadn’t noticed so much in previous novels was wit. and these short stories really do show this. The stories are witty and intelligent and I particularly enjoyed the links between stories. Characters appear and reappear as do places , characters that have a walk on part in one story are the main narrator in another story. We meet talking horses and talking dogs seemingly at random, and within quite naturalistic stories. At one stage, it seems that one of the characters might perhaps be God and writing all the other characters as she develops the universe.
I’m not actually much of a fan of the short story format, but the way that these stories are linked, gives the book more of a feel of a novel than an unconnected series of stories would. I enjoyed the game of spotting link was between the stories
I particularly enjoyed the apocalyptic story where the world pauses and anyone found outside dies. The story could’ve been quite dark, but the but with the addition of the authors wit, the story is very memorable.
If you are a fan of Kate Atkinson, you will no doubt buy this book, and I’m sure will not be disappointed with it. there is a similarity in the writing here with that of her previous novel Life after life, those who are new to the author will also enjoy this book. if you like into an intelligent witty, read, with a careful sprinkling of magical reality this will be the book for you.

Many thanks to Alison Barrow for sending me a copy of this novel to read and review. The novel is published in the UK on 24th of August 2023 by Doubleday books

Normally I don't love short stories, but I'll make an exception for Atkinson.

Barking mad.
Awesome.
Probably should read again soon.

3.75

I am a Kate Atkinson superfan and, my goodness, was I disappointed by this mess. It has been my experience that "connected short stories" is publicist-speak for "novel that didn't quite happen, plus some extra stuff to pad it this thing out to book-length" and that certainly seems to be the case here. There are occasional glimpses of what makes Atkinson great, but not only does this not cohere as a single work, but also each story feels unfinished. I look forward to her next novel.

i'm an atkison completist but was a little bummed about a short story collection; not normally my fave. but of course these were lovely. and weird! so strange and wonderful! they're really loosely connected but mostly standalone feeling, and completely all over the place in genre. i love this woman.

I give this collection 5 stars for the story « Spellbound » alone. It is so unexpectedly delightful and beautifully crafted that I can’t wait to read it again. All the stories are solid and mostly enjoyable, but as you progress through the collection, the later ones depend on the earlier ones. Read ‘em in order. But, definitely, read ‘em.

Delightful book of short stories.

Merged review:

Delightful book of short stories.