I found Constitutional rather disappointing. I thought Simpson's Dear George collection was exceptionally good, but most of the stories in Constitutional strike me as being rather slight. For example, a man is told he has terminal cancer. As a result, he learns to appreciate everyday things (nature, his wife, his child, life generally) and vows never to take anything for granted. He then learns that, in fact, he has treatable TB and returns to his old ways, ignoring the beauties of nature and finding his wife tiresome. The story is well done, but unexceptional, and the ending entirely expected.

I want a short story to give me a little jolt when I've finished it. A story should give me pause. I should want and need to take a few minutes simply to reflect on the story once I've finished it. It should resonate, not leave me thinking, 'what was the point of that?' A short story isn't a novel and it isn't a poem, though it has elements of both.

Only two stories in Constitutional seem to me capable of standing with Simpson's best work - the title story, and a reflection on war entitled The Phlebotomist's Love Life. In the former, a teacher in her forties takes a walk and reflects on her pregnancy, her absent lover, and the general absurdity of life. The latter deals with a woman who draws blood for a lviing and who finds herself unable to discuss her views on the Iraq war with her men-are-from-Mars lover.

Simpson specialises in the short story form, but this collection has the rather flat feel of an author treading water. Worth reading, but if you haven't read any of her work before, start with Dear George instead. [September 2009] ( )