Unsafe Attachments

This book is a little coy about admitting it’s actually a collection of short stories. The back cover implies that they are all linked, but in truth the linkages are remarkably tenuous, with characters wandering in and out of each other’s stories without necessarily being acquainted. That said, if the blurb had been clearer I would have rejected this book on the basis that I don’t like short story collections, and that would have been a shame because I ended up enjoying it very much.

All the stories feature some kind of illicit relationship, cover the full spectrum of sexual orientation, and are written with energy, wit and flair. I particularly liked the character who refers to her married lover’s “wife and two veg”. The show more stories have a beginning, middle and an end (mostly) and never outstay their welcome. If there was a downside, it was the tendency for the point of view to switch around without notice, or for the narrative to unexpectedly lurch forward like an unruly pony, jerking the story forward several months within a sentence or two.

A particular highlight for me was the chapter following the executive producer of a TV drama series, which was written as though addressed to someone ‘in the know’ about such things. From the brief summary of the author’s career it’s clear she knows what she’s talking about, and whilst elements of the story were difficult to grasp for those of us that don’t work in TV, there was a pleasant ‘on the inside’ feeling about the whole thing. show less