This month I’m recommending a collection of short stories Scratched Enamel Heart by Amanda Huggins. Find details here.
Amanda asked me to review it for her. I did this gladly and
I was pleased to create five star reviews on both Good Reads and Amazon. I can’t
post them yet as the book isn’t out until 27 May but here’s what I’m saying:
“The short stories
in this collection give a strong sense of time and place and allow the reader
to follow the characters as they make a journey. Sometimes this is an actual
physical journey, at other times it is a journey of the soul. Each story too
brings with it an atmosphere that we cannot ignore. We are drawn to the
characters and their settings.”
And here are a
couple of extracts from other reviews:
“Her use of all the
senses in her stories is wonderful. When she describes food being eaten, it is
as if you were there watching the food being eaten! This is hard to pull off
well. All of the stories will move you and make you wonder what you would
do if you were this character faced with this situation. Huggins creates a
miniature world with every story, and you are drawn in, almost hypnotically.” (Allison Symes)
"This short fiction collection contains
twenty-four emotionally-charged stories that take readers on a journey to
households and communities in a range of countries. Through these stories,
Amanda Huggins cleverly shows us the commonality of emotional experience. That
feelings of isolation, love, grief, loss and regret occur in different
backgrounds and cultures. And equally, that hope and the promise of a fresh
start is possible. Amanda Huggins writes in a beautiful and empathetic way to
immerse readers in the challenges and dilemmas she presents to her characters.
As readers we care about these characters and learn from them. This is a
truthful, authentic and essential read." (Gail
Aldwin)
Well worth pre-ordering,
I’d say.
