A potent mix of tales
Siobhan Murphy|Metro
5 April 2012
The idea of kin in its loosest sense links these short stories, all new writing by black and Asian women writers. It's a potent mix of tales, from the spiky, feisty staccato of Gemma Weekes and the dreamy lyricism of Francesca Beard, to the bubbling humour of Saradha Soobrayen and the harsh, iron-tinged prose of Shiromi Pinto.
What seems to link these tales more than kin, though, is pain, often derived from the protagonist's feeling of otherness or the hurt generated by a relationship: there is an overwhelming feeling of sadness in this collection, which leaves a wistful aftertaste.