Tapestry by Elle Turner (a book of short stories)

What they say: In hope, in pain,
we lose, we gain,
but always and forever
the human heart braves life
in light and in shade

A collection of twelve short stories exploring the complexities of life and love.

The review: I’m a sucker for short stories. I’m always using the phrase ‘dip in, dip out’ in relation to how you can read them but actually I generally read a book of short stories in one go. It’s the same with books with short chapters, I think to myself ‘just one more, just one more,’ and before I know it I’m nearing the end and am somewhere between tired and irritable and excited to see how the story will end. ‘Tapestry’ was no different. The title of the book first grabbed me and this was quickly followed by the cover. I thought about what a tapestry was, and this book definitely lived up to the title, with stories that are interwoven, themes and characters popping up all over the place with frayed edges, strands almost at breaking point and loose ends that are clearly visible.

The subject matter varied, but they are mostly love stories with a darker tinge to them, some so dark they border on claustophobic, not always a bad thing, it just meant that they reeled me in. I did find that there was possibly one too many in a row on unrequited love and obsession but then the subject matter changed again and all was good with the world. The crossover in particular was artfully done, as you guessed which character would appear again, and, coupled with the presence of twists timed very, very, well, alongside an absence of a twist where there was none required, I was very happy out!

I read it quite quickly (Amazon say it’s only 74 pages), with my eyes rarely moving from my Kindle. It’s always commendable when your eyes remain glued to the screen and your fingers continue to scroll, as if you’re in a trance, and that’s what happened here. There are twelve stories in this book, and I didn’t flick ahead once, nor did my eyes stray from the page. That being said there were possibly one or two I didn’t enjoy as much as the others, but that was evened out by the presence of a few that were outstanding (as well as a few very ingenious ones!).

Very much recommended, in particular for a journey, I think it would pass the time very nicely indeed, just hope that nobody creeps up on you!

Rating 4.5/5