All Together Now

Like most short story collections, this is a mixed bag of great and not so. The wedding story was a bit ho hum, really enjoyed the novella, others I would have liked to read more of. The one thing they all have in common, however, is the author's ability to create warm characters and interesting situations. I am really enjoying reading through her titles. Not too fast, mind, so I can savour each one, with other reads in between.

All Together Now was the only Monica McInerney book I hadn’t read (excepting 2011’s new release, Lola’s Secret). I had purposefully left it until last because I’m not really that big a fan of short stories (exception: Haruki Murakami). But as short stories go, this is a fairly good collection. McInerney’s sparkle and wit shine through even in a short period. A lot of the stories (some only several pages) got me engrossed and then suddenly finished, which was disappointing. But you can’t win them all.

The majority of the book is taken up by the novella, Odd One Out, which was previously released as a giveaway with the Books Alive programme. Strangely, I didn’t read it back then. The novella is about Sylvie, who is a bit show more lost and is asked by an old aunt to be her companion at an inopportune moment at a wedding. Sylvie is wrested from this fate by her brother, who sets her up in Melbourne on a treasure hunt to find new things and empower herself. There are some unexpected twists and turns but the ending is fairly predictable, and a little up in the air. I’d like to see this fleshed out more as a novel – the mystery of Sylvie’s dad is solved in a couple of paragraphs and then barely mentioned. The treasure hunt was a very good idea.

Lola (the grandmother from The Alphabet Sisters and now star of Lola’s Secret) makes an appearance as a fairy godmother doing good in another short story. It was nice to see familiar characters from McInerney’s novels return and a plus for those who have read her other works.
This would be a good point for those at the midway point or the end of McInerney’s work. A lot of the stories in this book have appeared elsewhere, so it would be advisable to have a quick skim before you purchase. It’s ideal for a quick read.

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Opening Sentence:
'...Though Sylvie Devereaux didn't realise it at the time, her life began to change at exactly five minutes past seven on the evening of her sister Vanessa's second wedding ...'

The opening sentence comes from the novella 'Odd One Out' which accompanies seven short stories.

I love Monica McInerney's work - these stories are a collection of some reprints of her earlier magazine short stories, some contributions to anthologies, and two new short stories which accompany the novella. The stories cover family relationships, women searching for themselves, love lost and love found - real issues. Women who are jealous, women who find fulfillment in helping others, other women finding the courage to face up to their problems and show more stand on their own two feet.

I loved the message in 'The Role Model' - where four overweight women fixate on the doctor's wife - thin and georgous. The first story was sweet, Spellbound is about a woman looking for love by trying to follow a spell. "The Long Way Home' was about a women who thought her world had come to an end and travels from Australia to Europe to find herself.

If you love chick lit - you'll love this. show less

Review for the unabridged audio version.

I listened to this book, narrated by Catherine Milte, through Audible. It was enjoyable enough, well read, but mediocre. Fine for listening to while doing mundane tasks like the laundry, but sadly, it really didn't do anything more to grab my attention.

It comprised a number of short stories and one novella, two of which were original to the book but the remainder of which had been previously published elsewhere.
Of these, my favourite was the first, Hippy Hippy Shake, a short comment on radical clothing fads, with a clever twist at the end. The other one that stuck with me was Sweet Charity, centring around another dressing disaster, Lola, the outrageously clad granny who runs a charity shop, and show more her sense of justice.

Unfortunately, not a collection to get excited about. show less