It’s John Ashbery who says it best (on the back cover of the collection): Christine Schutt’s Pure Hollywood is “pared down but rich”. Schutt doesn’t waste a word; no lengthy character descriptions or long rambles about the taste of the air, the feel of the wind, the colour of the sky. Only what’s relevant is depicted, creating an intimate, tight space for each of her protagonists. And yet as Ashbery says the stories are rich. In every piece there’s something left unsaid, a question that lingers – who did kill those children, what did happen to Pie, why did Lolly and Dick take their son to a resort ill-suited to children? – each one provoking discussion, a debate about Schutt’s intent (if such a thing exists).

Schutt has delivered a slim collection of uncomfortable, dark pieces that often suggest, hint and sometimes describe a moment of danger and violence. No-one ever seems safe in these stories, even when everyone survives, even when the piece is barely three pages long.

Highly recommended.