I came upon some advice before reading that said I shouldn’t pay any attention to Joseph. Now having finished the novel, I can say with full and vehement sincerity that this was great advice. And now I pass it along to you, dear reader. Ignore Joseph. Do yourself that one favor.

Unfortunately it has been almost 2 years since I first picked up this collection, 🙈🙈 so though I don’t completely remember the first few stories, I feel confident in saying this: this collection is heavy and devastating, but also bewitching (much like all of what Lily King writes). There are so many lines, sour like a lemon, that left a zing on my tongue. I can still taste them. The themes explore so many aspects of what makes being a human difficult and sad and unforgiving. But I also reveled in the lighter moments. The revealing moments. The moments that hummed with static electricity waiting to shock and spark.

Below is a weird mix of summary, thoughts, and themes explored in each story:

Creature: loss of innocence, Jane eyre allusion, stigma, sexual assault, sexual awakening, coming of age, socioeconomic class, victim blaming

Five Tuesdays in Winter: heartwarming, a story of how an introvert loves and feels, never feeling able to say what you feel

Where in the Dordogne: coming-of-age, honestly I thought something more sinister was going to happen the whole time, but the sinister thing happened off camera and barely addressed

North Sea: grief, mother daughter—I didn’t like this one 🙈

Timeline: I really don’t know what to think here. Family dynamics? Alcoholism? Being unable to escape your generational trauma, comedy of errors?

Hotel Seattle: mismanaged hopes, rape, someone in your mind holds a space of reverence but immediately disappoints, violence against minorities, devastation, horror

Waiting for Charlie: heartbreaking encounter between a closed-off grandfather and his granddaughter trapped in a coma, scent evokes long lost memories

Mansard: umm so actually…I will need someone to explain this one to me

South: discovering that your parents are real people, divorce, mother-daughter relationships, the inclination for a daughter to side with her father against her best interest, disillusionment

The Man at the Door: the personification of creative inspiration, feminine rage?, it certainly enraged me, balancing motherhood with other passions, the creative process, writer’s block, childhood trauma, alcoholism, self doubt—really enjoyed this one

I’m absolutely going to go back and reread the ones at the beginning. I love Lily King.